Humanity's Lost Claim
by Bane Keldare
Summary: When a human named Derek Shyfter is shot into the darkness, Fox McCloud must do everything he can for his
1. Broken Child of Lylat

Part I of "Humanity's Lost Claim"

"Broken Child of Lylat"

by Bane Keldare

Author's Notes: _Well, here begins my first Starfox fanfic in a series...I know there aren't that many out there that are easy to find, and after finding a library with some VERY impressive stories, and after reading the new comic by Nintendo, I had this drive to write down this story that's been brewing in my head for the past week or so. Sad? Maybe, but you might not think so after you read this...or maybe you'll hate it? Either way, it doesn't matter to me. I have to write these stories, it's the only way they'll ever be told._

_Oh yeah, I realized after starting this fic that there was another one in the library with a human character named Derrek...I didn't mean to make someone as identical...heh. That's what happens when I craft my own names by using an actual, honest-to-god human name like Derek...someone'll use that name too sometime. Oh well, I'm not copying his story by any means...why copy great writing when I can make some of my own? Heh._

_                                                                                                --Bane Keldare_

===================================================

"I've been so alone for so long...

...forgotten by the world...forgotten to myself..."

                                           --Stabbing Westward, "Waking Up Beside You"

===================================================

            "When it all boils down to it, the only reminder of a particular era is its heroes."

            "In history, all the great kings and generals of great wars were written well of in the textbooks, even if they weren't the greatest of men and women. Many famous figures had something that the books never brought to light because of the implications and impressions it would place on our young minds as we learn about them all through school. And let's face it--all of us have something to hide. There are only a few people who actually have pure enough lives that they don't have a dark secret, or a skeleton in the family closet. It could be just an embarassing moment in that person's history, or perhaps his family situation, or maybe his attitude towards life itself. But nonetheless, we have heroes that inspire us to be much more than we possibly could be in life."

            "Four of these heroes reside in the Starfox team. We all know their names now, but did we before the great Andross war? Did we know the name Slippy Toad, who built most of the machinery they used from scratch? Did we know the name of Peppy Hare, who gave the team many pieces of wisdom to help their assault on Venom? Did we know the name Falco Lombardi, whose courage drove him, and in turn, the team to take the more dangerous routes, which got them much farther than they ever would have gone? Did we really know Fox McCloud, the leader of the team, who struck the final blow to Andross' core to destroy his base on Venom? Did we remember Fox for his deeds, or for his father's reputation?"

            "Of course not, and it's been eight years since this horrible war, and these great deeds. Now the textbooks at the Cornerian Academy praise the name of Fox McCloud and his team, gives the specs on their aircraft, and intructs some of their more complex aerial maneuvers, which they came up with themselves."

            "They also speak of the team's most important asset: determination. They tell of how the team was so determined to destroy Andross' evil intentions. This determination might've been the deciding factor in making these people heroes, or maybe not. Maybe they got lucky? Maybe God intervened and saw them through? No. These four were part of a military-funded mercenary group of elite pilots, who were skilled enough to take on whole armadas, like that of Sector Y, or Zone 6, and come out almost unscathed."

            "Since these heroes defeated Andross, we built our church here on Corneria. It is easy to fit in here, as we only have one motto. _There is something greater out there, something grand, something holy, and it is worth believing in._ It is true that our brothers and sisters were inspired by the heroics of the Star Fox team, but we took lessons from them and brought it one step higher. To join us is to affirm that there is something grander out there, something that gave the Star Fox team that edge against Andross. There is no point in universal speculation on what this something is, for it would only cause strife. We are a community of those who strive for higher ideals."

            "We are the Children of Lylat."

            Derek Shyfter closed the book after reading the introduction again. Sitting in one of the pews, he clutched at the silver amulet that hung at his neck; an intricately crafted piece of jewelry in the shape of two silver wings, spread wide. His white, sleeveless trenchcoat fitted snugly over his blue sweater, and now the tail of the coat stretched behind his black pants and brown boots.

            A tall lion-faced man in light blue robes walked up behind him and patted him on the shoulder. "How many times are you going to read that introduction, Derek? You've been with us ever since we started this church eight years ago!"

            "Oh! Father Oleran!" Derek jumped, "you scared the hell out of me!"

            "Well good! We can't have something like hell inside you," Oleran chuckled.

            "Anyway, the reason I keep reading that introduction is that it pretty much sums up what this entire book, and this whole religion, really tries to say. I...I've been here since I was ten...and it's been like a whole other family to me, other than Uncle Pepper."

            "Oh, yeah...that reminds me. He called about half an hour ago, but you were working on some homework for the Academy so I didn't want to disturb you. He said to tell you as soon as you were free. I take it you are?"

            Derek jumped up. "Am I ever!" He said, running for the nearest holo-phone. "Thanks Father Oleron!"

            Oleron sighed. "When _will he stop seeing me as his superior...he knows the teachings better than __I do!"_

            "Master Oleron!" Called a young cheetah in green robes.

            "What is is, Terace?"

            "Sir, we're recieving a transmission from _Him!_"

            "_Him?!! But it isn't possible...well, I'd better take it in my study to be safe...I don't want Derek to see or hear anything from __Him." Oleron said, a dark look flashing across his face._

            "Why? Don't tell me you haven't told Derek...come on, he's been with us almost as long as _you have!!"_

            "He's too young to completely understand us...he'd never follow us if he knew."

            Terace fell silent, and Oleron proceeded to his study.

            "But...he should still at least _know..._" Terace murmured.

            The holo-phone blinked on, and General Pepper's face appeared.

            "Uncle Pepper! I heard you called." Derek said, a bright look in his eyes.

            "Oh yeah, that," Pepper responded. "Just checking up on you boy! How's the Academy going?"

            "It's going great! I'm keeping up with the class mostly, and I'm almost third in the class!"

            "Excellent! I knew you'd do well! Keep up the good work!"

            "Um...Uncle Pepper...I have this feeling you didn't call for just that..."

            Pepper sighed, and gave an admitting look.

            "You're right."

            "So...what's wrong? Did something happen?"

            "No no, nothing like that. Well, let's go back to some old history. You know how I adopted you when I found you at that excavation site?

            "Of course...I couldn't forget something like that!"

            "Well, we did a background check on you when I took you in, but we couldn't get an accurate reading because of your species...we didn't have anything like you in our database so I had some experts look into it. It took over 18 years, but we finally have it completely confirmed."

            "I knew I was different and all, but just _how_ different am I? I know that I haven't really been able to relate to any of my friends as well because of my unknown species. So what am I?"

            "Are you ready for this, Derek?"

            "Tell me, Uncle Pepper, what am I?"

            "You...are Human."

            Derek almost fell backwards in his chair, but caught himself. "HUMAN?!!!! But that's...that's impossible...right?!!"

            "I'm afraid not, Derek. You have barely any fur, feathers, or scales besides the hair on your head and a few other places. You don't have any senses that are very extraordinary, but your mental capacity is very large, and it's believed that the ancient humans were able to call upon telekinetic powers, as well as other powers, which you have been known to exhibit before, although completely by accident."

            "I know that but...but I just can't believe it."

            "I'm sorry I couldn't find out earlier, Derek...I know it's sudden." Pepper's face turned to the right, and nodded. "Sorry again Derek, I have to go for now. Would you like to discuss this over dinner at my quarters tonight?"

            Derek, now giving a solemn look, nodded slowly. "Sure. I'll see you tonight."

            The holo-phone blinked off, and Derek looked up at the blue Cornerian sky.

            "I...I can't believe that I am what I am..."

            A small craft resembling the Arwing flew overhead, and Derek blinked as the roaring sound echoed, the ponytail of his long brown hair waving from the sudden wind.

            "Maybe I don't know who I am..." he said, clutching his amulet with his left hand.

-------------------------------------

            "That was great, Uncle Pepper!" Derek said, taking one last sip of his mile.

            "Finest chef in the academy! I'd probably lose more weight if I didn't have him!"

            Derek almost spat out his milk at the remark, and then began coughing what was left inside.

            "That was _too funny!"_

            "Well it's true! Heh, but you know what they say, eat and be merry!"

            "Yeah."

            Pepper looked out at the twilight sky and sighed. "Well, I suppose it's time to talk about what I told you earlier."

            "Yeah, I'm still having trouble believing that I belong to an ancient race."

            "Believe me, Derek, you're not the only one surprised."

            "I know. Well, give me the details on humans."

            "Well, they lived here, on Corneria, about three to four billion years ago, and mysteriously disappeared. Apparently, according to some ancient data files, they had extraordinary Psionic powers."

            "Psionic?" Derek troubled with the pronounciation.

            "It's a group of forces that include telekinesis, telepathy, ESP, remote-viewing, etc."

            "Ah."

            "But it's so much more than that. Apparently some people could create fire in their minds, create changes in matter and matter states, thereby creating whatever matter they wished. They could use their telekinetics to levitate themselves to fly, and some could even teleport from one place to another. Really quite extraordinary. Apparently, though, it took both a great deal of natural talent and an extensive amount of training...but..."

            "...But Andross was able to do some of that Psionic stuff, huh?"

            "Yes. That is was worries me. To this day, we have no idea what the extent of his power was. When Fox and his team beat him eight years ago, we thought that was the end, but it wasn't."

            "It wasn't?"

            "No...four years later he discovered a base on Titania run by Captain Shears, one of our men. And he was trying to resurrect Andross. They stopped him, thank God, but four years after that, I commisioned Fox to investigate some problems on Dinosaur Planet...and at first we thought that it was General Scales behind it all, but we never revealed the truth to the public."

            "And...what was the truth?"

            "The truth was that Andross was behind that as well. I would be lying if I said I wasn't frightened of the possibility that the mad doctor found a way to stay alive...or maybe he never was really dead."

            "That is terrifying," Derek nodded.

            "Yes. Well, now for the transition...Derek I have some news that may trouble you."

            "Go ahead...after today I don't think anything else could go wrong."

            "Well, we have some troubling news on the Children of Lylat."

            "The Children?! But what could be wrong there?! I'd be one of the first to know!"

            "That's just it...Derek we think they're keeping you in the dark, and they have an agenda darker than the shadows in this room."

            "No..._NO! This can't be."_

            "Hold it, hold it Derek...we have some proof. Here's the last transmission of one of our members in the Secret Intelligence Agency when he got too close."

            "Ok, play it," Derek said, still unbelieving.

            Pepper found the file on his laptop and played it.

            "-Pepper...it's Alera...I found out that they're working for someone called "_Him." They go into a frenzy whenever his name is mentioned, and...apparently Oleron's the only one that really talks to __Him. Tonight I'm gonna find out who __Him is....-"_

            Some static, then the sound became clear again.

            "-Alera here...I think I found out who _Him_ is, but it wasn't easy...I had to break in to Oleron's study and found a bookcase...the third book from the right on the second shelf from the top had a switch...-"

            "-Get her!-"

            "-Damn, they spotted me! Oof!!!-"

            "-There you are, you stupid girl...you thought you could get away?-"

            "That...that's Father Oleron's voice!" Derek gasped.

            "-Oleron...how could you do this to your followers? How could you do this to Derek?-

            "-Quiet, you! What better way to...nevermind...you're probably recording this and relaying it as we speak.-

            "-How'd you guess?-"

            "-Easy, but it's all over now. Watch closely Terace! _THIS_ is what happens when those who don't belong trespass where they aren't wanted! This is our sacrifice Terace!-"

            "-But Father Oleron...-"

            "-Silence!!-" The sound of a blaster being fired pierced the speakers and caused Derek to jump.

            "-Aaugh!! ...Pepper...the one behind....the Children...is A...An.......sss...........-" Another blaster shot.

            The transmission was cut, followed by unnerving static silence.

            "I can't believe it...I remember Alera...Oleron told me she left somewhere...I couldn't imagine...and Terace...he's my best friend, I didn't think he'd..."

            "I think he's in on it, but doesn't like it...don't misjudge your friends too soon. Nevertheless, the more disturbing news is that before this, Alera said that they were planning something three days from now...and it was going to be quite a doozy of a plan, covered up by some religious celebration. I'm calling Star Fox in to investigate and stop them."

            "Star Fox?! You're calling Fox in? But...are you sure...I mean..."

            "Think about it Derek, what day is it in three days?"

            "I don't know...I don't care! I know that the church isn't...wait...don't tell me...oh my God."

            "It's the anniversary of Andross' defeat on Venom."

            "Yeah. Look Uncle Pepper, I appreciate all you're doing for me and all, but I'm not going to turn my back on my faith just yet."

            "I know you aren't, but just to be safe..." Pepper said, sliding a black blaster across the table.

            Derek's hand shook as he reached for it...as if it were silently praying that he wouldn't have to use this weapon, but Derek picked it up, and examined it.

            "You know how to use it, you ARE in the Cornerian Defense Army, after all."

            "Yeah...getting my official pilot's wings tomorrow..." Derek twirled the gun on one finger and holstered it in the empty holster at his belt.

            Pepper lifted Derek's chin with one of his furry fingers. "Do what you have to do, not what you want to do. It's the one ideal you can always count on. Derek, be safe."

            "I will. Thanks for dinner, and the talk," Derek said, walking out the door, hearing it hiss behind him.

            Pepper sat at the table, staring at the cold dessert in front of him.

            "...No problem......" he sighed.

===================================================

"What is it really, that motivates you?

The need to fly, or this fear to stop?

                                    --Powerman 5000, "When Worlds Collide"

===================================================

            Floating in orbit above Katina, The Great Fox did nothing but drift among the powerful currents of gravity around the planet. The silence outside was almost as disturbing as the silence within...the whole party was scattered about the ship. Peppy was reading in his room, Falco was on the lower deck, training, and Slippy was tinkering with the coffee machine for the third time, trying to make up for it exploding in Peppy's face two days prior.

            Fox McCloud lay in the meeting room's couch, his hands above his head, feeling weary from all he'd done. After Four years of not seeing any real action, and finally getting commisioned for his role on Dinosaur Planet, or Fortuna, or _whatever._ He was exhausted...only two months had passed since then. Falco came back, Krystal left, and Fox was still lost in the uneasiness of not knowing what was going to happen next.

            He even went so far as to think of how much fun it was fighting Andross.

            "No...even if it _did mean more money, I don't want to fight him again...I'm really getting tired of it," he said, washing the idea from his mind. Taking a sip of his soda, Fox placed it back on the table and began drifting off to sleep._

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            "Hey Fox! Can we go to the mall!" Called a familiar voice.

            _Wow...I remember this...this was what, eleven years ago? Back before Dad..._

            "Sure, hold on, I gotta go get my coat!" A fifteen-year-old Fox McCloud answered.

            "Hey Fox!" Called a much younger General Pepper.

            "Yes sir?" Fox asked.

            "I really appreciate you hanging around with Derek...he's been quite lonely."

            "No problem, I actually kinda like him, like the little brother I always wanted," Fox smiled. "C'mon Derek!"

            "Coming!" Tailed a seven-year-old Derek Shyfter, still as human as ever.

            The two headed off for the mall, which was only about fifteen minutes away by foot.

            "Hey Derek, wanna go to the arcade?" Fox asked.

            "Yeah! I've been meaning to get at that "Gunner King" game for awhile.

            "Heh, just don't embarrass everyone when you beat them."

            "I can't help it! I like that game!"

            They walked inside, and Derek headed straight for Gunner King.

            "Hey McCloud!" Called a young Falco Lombardi from the corner.

            "Falco! Didn't think you'd be here...what's up?"

            "Challenge you to a game of Aerial Mastery?"

            "You're on."

            They headed over to the game, and quite a crowd gathered.

            "Falco and Fox are at it again!" "Yeah!" "Awesome!" Came whispers from the group.

            The "battle" was long and fierce, both of them picking the same aircraft and weapons to be fair. They didn't want to win by having the better craft, or the cheapest tricks...this was an aerial superiority contest, pure and simple...whoever was shot down won. Last time, they ended in a draw, running out of time.

            Soon, Fox ran right behind Falco, firing his lasers constantly but missing due to Falco's evasion tactics. Falco headed up and tried to drop a bomb, timing it so that the bomb would land right on top of Fox's craft unless he did something drastic, which Falco counted on.

            Fox swooped down under the bomb, but Falco did an aerial U-turn, heading straight toward Fox. Both of them veered to their respective lefts, firing their lasers at almost the same time.

            "My fuel tank!" Both of them said, Falco throwing in, "dammit!" at the end.

            "--GAME OVER: DRAW--"

            "Not again," Fox chuckled. Falco slapped his forehead.

            "Hey, we should come to expect that, we _are_ the best out there," Falco smirked.

            "Yeah, after my dad," Fox grinned, knowing that bragging about his father drove Falco nuts.

            Their minor bickering caused them to completely miss the fact that the crowd was gone...they were watching something else.

            "I wonder who's racking up a high score this time?" Falco asked, the two wading through the crowd to the machine.

            Gunner King.

            "Derek?!" Fox gasped, watching Derek take down enemy aircraft as if he wasn't even at an arcade.

            "You brought him? I didn't see him..."

            "Yeah, he ran straight for this one. He really likes it."

            "Damn, I guess so..."

            Wave after wave, level after level went on as Derek shot down bogey after bogey. It was a simple game, really. Sit in the covered chair as if you were manning an anti-aircraft turret, firing at craft that came from almost everywhere, sometimes from behind. Those were the hardest to hit, but there weren't that many...still it was enough to knock Derek's life down to about half. His score was somewhere around 135,000 points.

            "Wow...wasn't your highest like 75,000-something?" Fox asked.

            "Quiet you..." Falco chuckled.

            "Fox! Derek!" Called an older voice.

            "That voice...Mr. Hare?" Fox asked himelf. "Mr. Hare! In here!"

            Peppy walked behind Fox. "Hi Fox, hi Falco...is Derek here?"

            They both pointed to Gunner King.

            Derek didn't stop, it was like he was in some kind of trance, which was unfortunate for the virtual ships that came within range of his turret. He had all the upgrades by now, the homing missiles, the secondary lasers, the protective shield, even the emergency cloaking.

            "Oh! Well, General Pepper said that the doctors want to perform some more tests on Derek, you know...like they have been for awhile."

            "Yeah, what _are they looking for? He's not sick is he?"_

            "No...we just don't know what species he is...rather odd, don't you think?"

            "Well, I've only known him for about three years so...I dunno, I just thought he was a little different. Oh well. Derek!"

            Derek didn't respond except for a cold, lifeless, "Wait."

            "Derek! It's time to go!"

            "Wait."

            "Derek!" Fox walked up and shook him. Derek shook his head and looked at the screen.

            "Huh...what? What happened?" Derek said, blinking his eyes and shaking his head.

            "You got the highest score on Gunner King...probably the highest anyone could get without rigging the game," Fox smiled. "C'mon, it's time to go."

            "Oh, ok! Oh, hi Mr. Hare!"

            Peppy waved. "Hi there!"

            "Well, I gotta get back...catch ya later, Fox!" Falco said, waving as he walked down the mall.

            _Why am I dreaming about all this? Maybe my mind wants me to remember it..._Fox thought, watching the whole thing as if it were some kind of movie or flashback.

            The three were walking home, Fox and Peppy walking beside each other, and Derek trailing behind, humming a tune that only he seemed to know.

            "Oh yeah, your dad and I are headed out with Pigma tomorrow."

            "Yeah? What for?"

            "Well, Pigma picked up a call from somewhere...he's the only one at the ship right now, you see. That's why I came to get you...your dad wanted to give you some money so you could get yourself some dinner for the next few days, and I had to get Derek back on Pepper's request."

            "I see. Ok. So what was the distress call all about?"

            "Apparently some raiders are attacking trade ships on Venom...Pigma called us in so we're off to check it out."

            "Cool! You guys take care of those bad guys now! Don't leave any of them out there!"

            Peppy chuckled as the three approached General Pepper's house. "Well Derek, I guess I'll see ya tomorrow!"

            Derek gave a sad, teary-eyed look and hugged Fox suddenly.

            "Hey! What's the matter? What's wrong?"

            Derek sniffled. "I'm sorry Fox...about your dad..."

            "What's wrong with Dad?"

            Blinking and shaking his head, Derek let go of Fox. "Sorry...just a bad premonition I guess. See ya tomorrow!"

            Derek went inside, closing the door behind him.

            "I wonder what that was all about?" Peppy asked.

            "I have _no idea. Oh well," Fox shrugged, following Peppy home._

----------------------------------------------------------

            Fox snapped awake.

            "He...he saw it?! Derek _knew that Dad was gonna...die...?"_

            "Ahh! Fox you scared the hell outta me!" Peppy said, almost spilling his drink.

            "Oh, Peppy! Man....how long was I out?"

            "I have no idea...I just came in for some juice. Why?"

            "I just had this wierd dream."

            "Oh?"

            "Well, you remember Derek?"

            "Derek? I haven't seen him for ages...must've been at least nine years since we saw him last...back when you joined Star Fox."

            "Yeah, well I just had this dream, or maybe it was more of a flashback. Me and Derek went to the mall and Derek got the highest score on Gunner King, and..."

            "Oh yeah, I remember that...I had to come get you two, Falco was there too, I believe."

            "Uh huh. Well, that was the day before you, Dad, and Pigma went...went to Venom. Derek hugged me and said 'I'm sorry about your dad...'"

            "You're kidding. _That I don't remember."_

            "No jokes. Now that I think about it, he _did_ say that."

            "That's almost creepy." Peppy eyed the soda. "That stuff's bad for ya, you shouldn't drink it when trying to take a nap...the caffiene'll keep you awake."

            "What do you think it means?" Fox asked, unphased by Peppy's obvious try at changing the subject.

            "I don't know. Maybe Derek's psychic? There're honest-to-God psychics in Lylat."

            "Hmm. Maybe. I wonder how that little guy's doing?"

            "He's probably cryin' his eyes out," came Falco's voice.

            "Falco?! How long've you been there?"

            Falco plopped down in one of the recliners, still in his training outfit. "I walked in on Peppy's lecture on caffiene."

            "Well, it's true--" Peppy started.

            "_Anyway, he's probably just cryin' in his room again," Falco repeated._

            "Hey, it's been a long time...we haven't seen him since he was what...nine? And we were  seventeen when we joined Star Fox..."

            "I was _eighteen..." Falco reminded._

            "Whatever...it's been nine years...he's just about eighteen himself, I'd imagine.

            "Yeah, I do kinda miss the little squirt...we'd pick on him and then you'd go lick his wounds for him and all..."

            "Falco!"

            The avian gave a hearty laugh.

            "Don't take it so hard, Fox! I'm only kiddin'."

            "Heh, you don't sound like it sometimes. Besides, that little guy was like a little brother to me, I couldn't just abandon him...even if I _did_ pick on him a little."

            "So, you think Derek..._little, puny Derek is psychic? Hmm...I guess it'd make up for his lack of body strength."_

            "Falco, it's been _nine years! People change," Peppy butted in._

            "Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know by staying here."

            "You're right, Falco!" Fox snapped his fingers. "I say we call ol' Pepper!"

            "You _can't be serious," Falco slapped his forehead._

            "Oh yes I am! I'm off to the bridge!" Fox said, darting in that very direction.

            "Wow...all this from a dream. So stupid."

            "Well, you know Falco, a lot of things start from dreams...even Andross had his own dreams at one time."

            "Yeah, and that meant nightmares for all of _us._" Falco said, taking a sip of Fox's soda.

            "Hmm...I wonder if I can remember Pepper's frequency...it's been awhile. Lessee...8...4...3....4....7..." Fox murmured.

            But before he finished his entry, the communicator rang.

            "Spooky..." Fox chuckled as he turned on the main screen.

            "Whoa! _Way too spooky!" Fox said, looking right into General Pepper's eyes._

            "Fox! That was perhaps the fastest you've ever picked up a call from me!"

            "Yeah, well...after the _last mission you sent me on...wait a minute...why _are_ you calling me...unless..._You_ have a mission for us, don't you?"_

            "Well, yeah, how'd you guess?"

            "Just lucky."

            "Well, this isn't exactly the typical mission."

            "Neither was the last one, General."

            "Too true. Well, anyway, I have an infiltration mission for the four of you."

            "Infiltration? What kind of infiltration? An Andross base?"

            "Perhaps. You've heard of the Children of Lylat?"

            "Of course."

            "Good. Fox, I want you four to sneak in tomorrow night at the Grand Church. There's apparently supposed to be a celebration going on for the anniversary of Andross' defeat."

            "That's tomorrow? Heh, completely forgot. Again."

            "Well, anyways, behind that celebration is the _real_ threat...it's up to you guys to get in there and find out what this threat is. Father Oleron is apparenly in on this, and his study has access to some kind of secret headquarters or something."

            "Gotcha...so what's this little job going to mean to you?"

            "Ten-thousand up front. Twenty-five thousand more when the job's done, and all travel and extra expenses covered."

            "Hmm...that's a little low but...well I guess we don't really have to do anything too dangerous. What could a bunch of religious fanatics do?"

            "Well, there's a little complication in the matter."

            "And that would be...?"

            "Derek's going to be there."

            "Derek?! Little Derek's gonna be there?!!"

            "Yeah, he's been with the church since he was ten...joined about when it was founded."

            "How is he doing? I was about to call you about him."

            "Well, he got his pilot's wings today."

            "His wings?! Man...he grew up fast."

            "Makes me proud." Pepper changed his tone. "Anyway, you've got to find out what's going on, and if you can, try to find Derek and take him with you...he knows what's going on and he'll be armed too, just in case."

            "Oh, and try to be easy with him, he's had a rough few days lately."

            "Why's that?"

            "We finally found out what species he is, and you're in for a shock."

            "Go ahead...I'm ready."

            "He's Human."

            "_Human?! But...but they're...they're...!"_

            "Extinct. Well, not any more. Derek's one of a kind, and now he feels more alone."

            "I see."

            "So, basically, he needs his 'big brother.' Please help him."

            "Roger that. We'll be there tomorrow."

            Pepper's face blinked off the screen.

            "Oh man...now I gotta tell the guys about this."

=====================================================

"Nothing changes...nothing rearranged...

Nothing changed...nothing but me!

Oh....God damn me..."

                                    --Filter, "God Damn Me"

=====================================================

            The next day came, and the celebration of the Children of Lylat was absolutely fantastic. The church's parking lot was decorated with many game booths and other kinds of stands. Performances were going on both inside and outside the church, and the light show had been going on for about five minutes now, since it got dark. Lights were strewn up everywhere, and great huge floats hovered in the sky of the Star Fox members, and there was even going to be a fireworks show.

            Derek walked in and out of the church many times, debating what to do in this situation. Go in and find out what's going on? Wait and see of Star Fox was really coming? Or forget the whole matter altogether?

            "No. I have to know the truth. My faith depends on it," Derek clutched his amulet tightly, his other hand behind his back, under his white, sleeveless trenchcoat, holding the blaster that Pepper had given him. Swallowing his pride, Derek walked into the church, never to walk out again until the truth was told. Putting on the green robe in his hands, Derek pulled the hood over his head and headed toward Oleron's study.

            "I can't believe we're doing this!" Falco complained, tugging at the sleeves of his robe.

            "Falco! Come on, there could be real danger that all these people aren't aware of!" Slippy said, pulling the hood over his head. "Besides, I kinda like these robes." 

            "Yeah, we can't see how annoying you are."

            "Quiet you two! We're _undercover, you know...not to be discovered and such?" Fox reminded them._

            "Yeah, yeah," Falco pulled on his hood. Peppy and Fox did the same.

            "Everyone equipped?" Peppy asked.

            "I got my blasters," Falco responded.

            "Got my gun," replied Fox.

            "Got my blaster and omni-tool," Slippy answered.

            "And I got my guns too. Ok then, let's be careful."

            The four began to mingle within the celebration, surprisingly not getting any wierd stares as the four hooded figures made their way to the doorway of the grand church. The door was already open, and even more celebration awaited inside. Huge, long tables of food, a buffet in fact, stretched down both sides, all the way down the walls.

            "Lets see...it's supposed to be Oleron's study...the one with the red door," Fox motioned.

            The door to Oleron's study opened, and Derek all about jumped as he examined the bookcase.

            "You! You're not supposed to be in here!" he shouted to the four hooded figures.

            "Get him!" One of them commanded, all of them charging.

            It was as if a switch had just turned on in Derek's brain. Time seemed to slow down a little, and all the attacks were just so easy to dodge...and Derek thought nothing of grabbong one of their arms, and flipping the guy over his shoulder. The other short member attempted a jump kick, but Derek just dodged to the side and grabbed his foot, forcing him to slam the back of his head into the ground.

            The second tallest figure, the one giving the commands, charged, delivering a strong punch, only for Derek to dodge it with all the rest. Catching his elbow, Derek slammed his palm into the side of the attacker's head, causing him to land on the desk, clutching the right side of his face. Finally the tallest one came unto Derek.

            "Ok, now it's my turn!"

            The voice sounded so familiar, and Derek's killswitch turned off. The first right hook didn't knock him down, but the uppercut did, sending his chin flying upward, and forcing his silver amulet to jingle on the ground, Derek himself kneeling on the floor.

            The tall one stood over him again, ready to strike again, but the second-tallest catching his arm. "Wait, Falco!"

            "...Falco...? Falco...Lom...Lombardi?!!" Derek asked.

            "Why'd you stop me?"

            "Look...that amulet...remember?"

            "That's...that's....."

            "Falco? Is it really you?" Derek said, grabbing his amulet and standing up.

            The azure avian pulled back his hood and revealed his face.

            "It is you! Then the rest of you are...and you're...?" Derek pointed at the leader, as Peppy and Slippy pulled back their hoods.

            Fox pulled off his hood, and shook his head.

            "Derek...where the _hell did you learn all that?!"_

            "Fox!" Exclaimed Derek, instantly hugging Fox tightly.

            Hugging back, Fox gave a slight laugh. "How ya been, kid? Keeping out of trouble?"

            "Yeah, only to wind back in something deeper."

            "So we heard." Fox and Derek released each other. "So you're here to stop Oleron, too?"

            "Sort of...I'm here to find out the truth, is all. If Oleron's behind this, then yeah, I'm here to stop him...got Uncle Pepper's favorite blaster."

            "Ooh...nice one. You sure you can use it?" Falco asked snidely.  
            Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out his CDA badge, complete with pilot's wings, and showed it to Falco. "This answer your question?"

            "Kid, you grew up way too fast."

            "I don't think nine years is too fast, Falco." Peppy reminded.

            "How are you doing Mr. Hare?"

            "Just call me Peppy. And I'm doing fine, thank you."

            "Didn't think you'd ever see me here, huh?" Slippy asked.

            "...Slippy? Wow, I hardly recognized ya!"

            "Ok ok," Fox said, hushing everyone's voices. "Derek...we're here to find out and stop whatever's going on. Can we count on you for help?"

            "I guess...but this is my first time down here too, so..."

            "That's fine."

            Derek turned to the bookcase. "Ok...second shelf from the top...third book from the right..." He pulled a red book titled _How History Repeats._ The bookcase slid over to the side, revealing what appeared to be an elevator.

            "Slippy, can you get it working?"

            Pressing a few buttons on the bracer adorned on his left arm, Slippy slid a small metal card into the slot next to the keypad. Before long, a green light lit up, and the elevator opened with a quiet *DING*.

            "Of course I can get it working," Slippy grinned.

            They all slipped inside, and descended down into the unknown.

            "Ok, I've got an idea," Derek spoke up.

            "Great..." Falco crossed his arms.

            "No no, it'll work, trust me. Father Oleron really likes me...I mean he almost thinks I'm all but his son...so I say you guys wear your hoods and I'll act like I wanted into his plan, whatever it was."

            "And what're we supposed to do?" Asked Fox.

            "Act like my guards. Because 'I'm too _nervous_ to be without guards during a celebration of the defeat of Andross.'" Derek gave quotations with his fingers.

            "Hmm...that might work, actually," nodded Falco, putting his hood back on. The rest followed.

            Derek grinned, happy at the complement from Falco, as the lift stopped and the door opened.

            "Halt!" called the guards. "Brother Derek?! Go right ahead! Oleron's down the hall."

            "Thank you," Derek said, holding his hands together and bowing. His entourage followed silently.

            The place was something out of a military blueprint. Metallic hallways as far as the eye could see, many of them seeming identical to many of the CDA's flagships, a few of them reminding Fox of Great Fox's own. The doors, closing and opening in X-patterns, hissed every now and then with passing guards and loyal followers. Out of the corner of his eye, Derek could've sworn he saw Terace.

            Fox and Peppy, with their keen ears, picked up the sound of a crowd cheering from down the hall, and they both pointed to a large double door, the only one in the place. All four nodded at Derek, who proceeded through the door.

            The large crowd was cheering as Father Oleron finished up his speech, but they fell silent as Oleron's attention was turned to the back of the grand hall.

            "...Derek? Derek is that you?"

            "Yeah! Father Oleron, what's going on here?"

            "You're too young...you shouldn't see this!"

            Derek and his "guards" stepped forward.

            "Why not? I'd follow you into hell if I had to. Besides, I don't feel safe outside during a celebration over Andross' defeat...could be attacks and the like."

            "Derek, you don't know the half of it, but I'm glad you've decided to join the rest of us loyal followers! Hear that everyone! Master Derek has joined us!!"

            The crowd roared.

            "What...does all this mean?"

            "Come into my office, and I shall _show_ you what you have declared to fight for!"

            Oleron walked offstage, and the five followed. The crowd dispersed to their quarters soon  after, leaving the great hall empty.

            The office was a huge one, meant only for the highest ranking officers, and it almost rivaled that of General Pepper himself. Five guards stood around the room, silent as Derek and company stepped inside, the door hissing shut behind them. Oleron pushed a small button on his desk, opening a holo-phone screen.

            "Who are you calling?"

            "I'm calling _Him."_

            "_Him?"_

            "Yes...only _He can really explain what's going on."_

            On the screen appeared the face of a simian-morph, rather old, with grey hair in the back, many wrinkles, and the creepiest eyes and smile Derek had ever seen.

            It was the face of Andross.

===================================================

"I'm your fear...I'm monster.

What's hiding in your shadow? Is it taking what's left of you?

                                                --Gravity Kills, "Down"

===================================================

            "Father Oleron, I trust that you have a good explanation for calling me in the middle of...hello...who is this?"

            "This is Derek, Master. This is the one I spoke of."

            "_You are Derek? I see...so you've decided to join us after all."_

            "You're...you're _ANDROSS!!! But...I thought you were destroyed...I thought...I thought..." Derek stuttered._

            "You see, we took up what Captain Shears left behind. Quite amazing what he managed to do while compiling all of the Master's notes."

            "Derek, you're a vital part of my plan," Andross continued.

            "No...I won't...not for you...not for your evil purposes!" Derek pointed. "Guys! Get the guards!"

            It was the moment of truth. They all tore off their robes and got in their battle positions. Fox pointing at one of the guards with one hand. Slippy and Peppy using both hands to grip theirs. Falco, in his traditional "cool guy" style, held two guns at two different guards, his arms crossed. Derek never drew his gun.

            "Star Fox?! Derek, what is the _meaning of this?!!!"_

            "No! _I'm asking the questions now! How could you decieve me?!! How could you, with all your ideals, follow a madman like Andross?!!!"_

            "Derek, you don't understand. You see, it was _we_ that wronged _him. We exiled him because he was trying to lengthen our lifespans."_

            "He was using human experiments for those! Everyone knows that!"

            "So? Some sacrifices need to be made, for the benefit of all!"

            "NO! Life is precious! _EVERY life is precious! You taught me that!!"_

            "Oh Derek, you're such a little fool."

            "Fox...how good to see you again," Andross' booming voice echoed.

            "Andross...how many God damn times do I have to kill you?!!!!!!" Fox shouted at the top of his lungs.

            "All of this...all I believed in..." Derek fell to his knees, holding his face in his hands.

            "It was all...It was all a...a LIE!!!!"

            "Yes, Derek, and now that you've brought all these great new friends with you, I suppose I'd better dispose of you," Oleron pulled a blaster out from under his robes.

            "......Go ahead...I don't care..." Derek sniffled.

            "NO!" Cried a voice. A figure, a cheetah in green robes darted in front of Derek as Oleron fired the blaster. The laser blast piercing the young man's chest.

            Terace fell to the ground.

            "Hmph." Oleron holstered his pistol.

            "Terace?!! TERACE!!!" Derek crawled over to his dying friend, holding his hand.

            "Derek...you've gotta get...get out...this place is...it doesn't suit you...go with them...there's something big coming...for Corneria..."

            "What?!!"  
            "It's true." Andross boomed. "I've got almost my entire fleet ready to decloak over Corneria as soon as they get past Katina. General Pepper doesn't stand a chance now. I'm transferring my data over to my flagship, Oleron. I trust you'll take good care of this situation."

            "I will," Oleron grinned, as Andross disappeared from the room.

            "First it was Alera...and now Terace...you killed them...and then you killed..."

            "Oh? What did I kill?" Oleron asked snidely.

            "You killed everything I believed in...Oh God...Terace!" Derek said, beginning to sob.

            "Oh God, here come the waterworks," Falco sighed.

            "Falco!"

            "Just like old times I guess," Falco said, blasting the two guards. The others did the same, the guards slumping into the corner, unconscious. Now all of Star Fox's guns were aimed at Oleron.

            "You...you killed my faith...my...my..."

            "Derek, you can't just give up on everything just because of something like this!" Fox assured. "Did you ever read the introduction to the Children of Lylat closely? It doesn't have a set faith to follow...this faith is all your own! All he did was decieve you! C'mon! We gotta go stop that fleet somehow!"

            "You're right...I...I won't let Oleron..." Derek slowly stood, a glazed look in his eyes.

            "Derek...you don't know what you're doing..." Oleron warned.

            "_I won't let you destroy this planet!!!!!" Screamed the human, holding his arms forward, tears still streaming down his face."_

            Some ungodly force was unleashed then. Derek kept on screaming, and the rest of Star Fox, especially Fox and Peppy, held their ears as Derek's scream echoed and echoed over and over again. Pushing his hands out forcefully, something slammed into Father Oleron, sending him crashing through the vid-screen, and into the back wall. He slumped down, and Derek's screams were silent.

            "What...what _was that?" Fox asked._

            "Heh, he never did _that before," Falco chuckled._

            "We don't have time to waste! We've gotta warn General Pepper about Andross!" Peppy commanded.

            "Yeah! C'mon let's go!" Slippy said as he ran, first one out the door.

            The rest followed, but Fox turned around. "Derek! C'mon! You're coming with us!"

            Derek didn't even turn around...instead, he fell almost lifelessly to the floor.

            "Derek!" Fox said, hoisting Derek up on his shoulders.

            "Don't worry, big brother's got you."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

            _I can't believe it...my faith...what does it all mean?_ Derek asked himself in his unconscious state.

            _Why...why Oleron? Why did you do this? Why did you make all this a front?_

            Slowly, a scene from Derek's past began. Right outside General Pepper's home, Derek was hugging Fox.

            "I'm sorry Fox...about your dad..."

            _What?! This was the day before...before Mr. McCloud died? He was so cool...he had me over for dinner a lot, and..._

            The scene changed, to two weeks later.

            "Fox? What's wrong?"

            "Derek...you're too young to understand, Fox said, his face buried in his pillow."

            "Fox...is it...is it your dad?"

            "Yeah," Fox sniffed, "Pigma...he betrayed the team and killed Dad...almost got Peppy...and...oh God..."

            "Fox...Oh no...I'm sorry Fox...I..."

            "It's alright..."

            "How long've ya known?"

            "Three days...God...damn..."

            Derek broke down crying too.

            _Fox...God.....It's been eleven years since then...I thought I'd forgotten all of it._

            The scene flashed again.

            "Derek...I'm gonna become the new leader of Star Fox."

            "You are?! Cool! Can I go?! Please?!!"

            "Sorry Derek, you're too young. You're only nine. Maybe when you're older. Hey, let's make a promise. If you get your pilot's wings, I promise you can come with us, ok?"

            "Ok! It's a deal!"

            _I kept my promise...but do I really want to do this anymore? I was betrayed by my faith...by my mentor...I...I don't know what to do..._

            "Derek."

            "Huh? That sounds like..."

            "It's me, Derek."

            "Terace?!"

            "Derek, your faith didn't betray you. Oleron did. The Children of Lylat were never a church of one particular faith, you know that."

            "Yeah, but..."

            "What was the one belief that you followed the entire time you were there? That one belief that you got almost half of the people to follow?"

            "Oh come on...I was only ten when I said that."

            "So? You still believed it until fifteen minutes ago."

            "I said: 'There's a light deep inside all things, and if we strive to keep those lights lit, then the galaxy will never be a dark place.'"

            "Don't tell me you don't believe it."

            "I...guess I do."

            "Good."

            "By the way, where am I? Why am I able to see you?"

            "You're in a coma, Derek. You'll wake up soon, don't worry. Help Fox. He might not realize it until it's too late, but he's going to need your help."

            "Why?"

            "Because the Cornerian Siege is beginning."

            "When will I wake up?!"

            "Wait."

            "What was that power I unleashed back there? What did I do?!"

            "Wait."

            "Terace!!!"

            _Wait._

---------------------------------------------------------

            Later, on the Great Fox, Peppy walked out of the infirmary, shaking his head.

            "No good, he's in a coma...could be out for days, weeks, maybe even years."

            "God..." Fox said, stopping his frantic pacing. "Is there anything we can do?"

            "Yes. We could go and help Pepper...the siege will be starting soon."

            "I guess we should go after them. ROB, can you do me a _really_ big favor?"

            [-WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU FOX?-] ROB asked in his monotone, robotic voice.

            "I want you to look after Derek, make sure that, if he wakes up, that he doesn't leave the ship, okay?"

            [-ROGER.-]

            "So Fox? We goin' or what?!" Falco called.

            "Yeah. We're going."

            Fox walked into the infirmary, grabbed Derek's hand for a moment, and let it fall, clenching his own hand into a fist.

            "We're going, and we're not looking back."

The End.

===============================================  
"Wake me up inside! Wake me up inside!

Call my name and save me from the dark!

Bid my blood to run, before I come undone!

Save me from the nothing I've become!"

                        --Evanesence, "Bring Me To Life"

===============================================


	2. The Cornerian Siege

Part II of "Humanity's Lost Claim"

"The Cornerian Siege"

by Bane Keldare

All characters are (c) Nintendo

Quote break lyrics are (c) their respective owners.

Derek Shyfter is (c) Bane Keldare

Notes:_ Haven't gotten very many replies to my last story...Stealthfox said it's a good way to kick off his fan-fiction section, and I take that as a very big compliment, thanks! I do only what I can, and it might not even be my best. I dunno. I'm not really that bummed about the lack of replies...maybe it's for the better. However, I liked how people like Snoopy were honest with my last one, instead of just being nice like I've had happen in the past with other stories that I KNOW weren't my best. Thanks guys!_

_Many of you might have questions as to why I put something so deep like religion in my stories...it's simple. Because life is a lot more complicated to just put in a linear game like Starfox 64...which is the primary basis for these. We flew to different planets but we never really got a great deal of insight to the characters in the story. Sure, we knew their stories, their personalities and all, but that was pretty much it. Throwing religion in has always been a little idea of mine, mainly because almost all religions have some kind of dark past, and then they state that they're atoning and are done with it, like an apology. Having Derek's faith betrayed brought a little more realism to the story by making Lylat a little more darker, much as we would expect if we were suddenly plummeted into it._

_                                                                                    --Bane Keldare_

==========================================

"What was the start of all this?

 When did the cogs of fate begin to turn?

 Perhaps it is too late to find these answers now

 From deep within the flow of time..."

                        --Schala Zeal, "Chrono Cross"

==========================================

            "About four hours ago, Andross' fleet decloaked and descended upon Corneria."

            "The Cornerian Defense Army, under General Pepper's command, did all they really could to defend their planet...and the battle is still raging, which isn't really surprising. Both armies were immense...since Andross' defeat eight years ago, his forces had been rallying themselves without the help of their great leader. Some even went so far as to say that Star Wolf was the deciding factor in rallying them all together. When Andross attacked Dinosaur Planet, he only had a small force, and was, of course, defeated by Fox and his friends. They didn't have any idea that the Children of Lylat were up to something."

            "Not even Derek Shyfter, one of the founding members, was in on it."

            "The truth is, the Children of Lylat was nothing more than a front. A peaceful place of tranquility and serenity to throw everybody off guard. In actuality, Andross had been planning this for eight long years, using the church as a gigantic meeting place for his forces."

            "And now, while Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy risk their lives fighting on Corneria, young Derek floats in his coma, soon to awaken."

            "And you will awaken soon, friend Derek."

            Derek hung his head low, watching Terace say all of this inside his comatose dreams.

            "Terace...when will I wake up?"

            "Soon." Terace answered.

            "_How soon?! I've got to help Fox somehow."_

            "Actually, he needs your help now," Terace said, waving his hand. A small reflecting pool appeared in front of them. Inside, the two friends watched Fox's arwing flying amongst several tall buildings.

            Corneria City.

            "What...what is this?" Derek asked.

            "This is what happens when you accept your power. Right now, you are actually seeing what's going on right now, in this perception of "present," your perception."

            "This is happening right now?!"

            "Yes."

            Fox's ship, after shooting down three venomian fighters, was soon being trailed by two others, and Fox didn't seem to notice.

            "Fox..._FOX! Behind you!!!" Derek shouted._

            "He can't hear you."

            "Yes he can! He _has to!! FOX! __BEHIND YOU!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            _You..._

"What? You say something Slippy?" Fox asked, his arwing jerking as he jumped.

            "Not me Fox! Anyone say anything?" Slippy asked on the com.

            "Not me," Falco responded. "Yes! Got another one!"

            "Wasn't me, Fox," Peppy said.

            "Hmm...that was wierd...it almost sounded like..."

            _Fox! Behind you!_

            "Derek?! Dammit! They _are behind me!!!"_

            Fox pulled a masterful sommersault and arrived about 40 feet behind, them, taking them both out with one guided shot.

            "Derek...I dunno how you did it, but thanks."

            "Fox! Are you gonna help out or what?! I got three on me and I can't shake 'em!" Falco shouted.

            "On my way!" Fox followed.

            Their pattern of attack was well planned...one of them flew slightly higher than Falco's ship, while the other two flew lower, on the left and right wings, making an interesting and deadly triangle.

            "Falco! Do a flip when I say three, ok?!"

            "This'd better work, Fox!"

            "One..." Fox fired a nova bomb straight for the back of Falco's engine.

            "Fox! That's a bomb! What the hell..."

            "Two..."

            "Ack! God damn, Fox!"

            "Three! Flip now!!!"

            Falco's ship turned upward, upside down, and he spiraled away behind Fox's ship, as the nova bomb detonated almost exactly between the three ships.

            "Heh, and you were worried," Fox laughed.

            "Yeah, yeah, I'll remember to risk your life next time you need help."

            _Behind the building! Fox! They're behind..._ Derek's voice trailed off.

            "Behind the...Derek! Where are you?!"

            Sure enough, three enemy fighters came from behind the building. Firing his second bomb off, Fox veered away just in time to avoid the blast, the shockwave taking out the windows of the skyscraper, and the three bogeys crashing into the streets below.

            _I'm here! I'm comatose but...somehow I can see you!_

            "What?!! How long are you gonna be like this?!"

            _Terace keeps saying I'll wake up soon...when I do I'll come down and help you guys._

            "No! I want you to stay on the Great Fox! Besides, we don't have any more ships!"

            _I heard you had a tank._

            "Derek! You don't even know how to pilot it!"

            "Fox! Who in blazes are ya talkin' to?!" Peppy demanded.

            "...You're not gonna believe it," Fox shot down another enemy.

            "Try me."

            "It's...it's _Derek!"_

            "You're right, I don't believe you...you finally flipped from combat high."

            "No no...he told me about those guys behind the building, and the ones behind me...he told me, I heard his voice."

            "Alright, alright...whatever, just get back to the battle!"

            _Fox...I think I'm...yeah, I'm waking up...I'll be there shortly._

            "No! Don't even think about it!"

            _Too late...I've already made up my mind._

            Fox chuckled softly to himself.

            "Yep, that's Derek, makes up his mind way too quick."

-----------------------------

            Blinded by bright light, Derek squinted his eyes, and opened them very slowly.

            "Hey...where am...oh yeah, Fox said I was on the...the Great Fox?"

            [-GLAD TO SEE YOU ARE AWAKE.-] ROB stated coldly.

            "Um...hi? Who are you? The guys didn't mention you."

            [-I AM ROB64, PLEASED TO MEET YOU DEREK-]

            "Same here. Um...where are we right now?"

            [-WE ARE IN THE GREAT FOX, CURRENTLY CLOAKED AND IN ORBIT OVER CORNERIA CITY. MORE EXACT COORDINATES ARE...-]

            "Hold it, hold it. _Where over Corneria are we?"_

            [-SENSORS INDICATE WE ARE ALMOST DIRECTLY OVER CORNERIA CITY.-]

            "Good. Listen, I'm going down to help Fox, alright?"

            [-NEGATIVE. I WAS DIRECTED TO KEEP YOU ABOARD.-]

            "Come on, please? I have to go help Fox! He needs my help...he needs OUR help!"

            [-THERE ARE NO MORE VEHICLES TO TAKE.-]

            "Yes there are, don't you guys have a tank?"

            [-TECHNICALLY IT IS CALLED THE LANDMASTER, BUT IT COULD BE CONSIDERED A TANK. THE BRAINCHILD OF SLIPPY TOAD, THE LANDMASTER WEIGHS...-]

            "Whoa, whoa, whoa...I don't want the specs, I want to take it out and help Fox."

            [-NEGATIVE. I WAS DIRECTED...-]

            "I _know what you were told! Don't you see that Fox needs help down there?! He needs you to fire the Great Fox's cannons at the larger ships, and he needs _my_ help down on the surface! Don't you see?! Don't you care?!"_

            [-I CARE, BUT I FOLLOW ORDERS.-]

            "I did that once, but those 'orders' weren't the best course of action to take."

            [-I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.-]

            "Ok, I followed a religion for awhile, you understand religion, right?"

            [-AFFIRMATIVE. BELIEF IN AND REVERENCE FOR A SUPERNATURAL POWER OR POWERS REGARDED AS CREATOR AND GOVERNOR OF THE UNIVERSE. A PERSONAL OR INSTITUTIONALIZED SYSTEM GROUNDED IN SUCH BELIEF AND WORSHIP.-]

            Um...yeah, close enough. Well anyways, I followed my faith blindly because I believed so hard that it was the right thing. In the end, it was a front for all of this!" Derek waved his hand out the window, at the battle that had barely started stretching into space. "You see! I believed in what was really wrong!"

            [-BUT HOW IS KEEPING YOU ABOARD THE SHIP WRONG?-]

            "It isn't totally wrong, but if Fox needs our help, we should go out and help him. If he needs our help, then we should help. And the forces of Andross must be overcome, no matter what the cost."

            [-I THINK I AM BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND.-]

            "Good! So you'll take me down there and help out?!"

            [-...-]

            "ROB?"

            [-...-]

            "Are ya in there? Will you help Fox? Will you let me go help in the Landmaster?

            [-...AFFIRMATIVE.-]

-----------------------------

            "What are we going to do, General Pepper?" Asked an advisor.

            "I don't know, Kurt...I don't know," Pepper said, watching all the mayhem from the safety of the guarded CDA headquarters.

            "Well, should we deploy more units? Maybe dispatch the emergency reserves or..."

            "NO! I'm not going to send any more out there to risk their lives. Our army alone seems to be handling things for the moment."

            "You sound as if you have some kind of plan."

            "I do, but it'll take quite a long time to activate this plan."

            "You're not going to...activate 'It,' are you?"

            "Why not?" Pepper pushed up his glasses. "It's not like it's the end of the world or anything."

            "Very funny, sir. Nice to see you keeping your spirits up."

            Pepper gave Kurt a very serious look.

            "Well, the problems are quite serious...what about trade? We need the ores from Macbeth and Katina, as well as other resources."

            "No we don't, there's a reason why we use their ores instead of the ones found here, so we can preserve the beauty of our planet. Besides, don't you think that with an armada of that size that Andross already has his shadow looming over the other planets in this system?"

            "True. Very true. Well, what about refugees? We can't just ignore them."

            "I implemented a fail safe into the plan just in case. I've made a few strategically placed gateways so that ships can continue to enter."

            "I see. But the shield...what about hazards to the atmosphere?"

            "It shouldn't do anything to it. It was designed to not let anything relatively large, like a ship through, even though radiation and the sun's rays can still make it, just like normal."

            "Alright, so what is this plan you have for it?"

            "You want to hear it? Alright, here goes."

            Pepper pressed a button, and a holographic image of Corneria, with Andross' armada in orbit, appeared.

            "As you can see, the armada's only on this one section. However, the shield is strong enough to cut anything caught in the force when it's charged and activated. All of these large ships would be cut to ribbons. After that, there would only be about half their force within our side of the shield, because they seem to be attacking with half of their force all of the time, or so we estimate."

            The "shield" raised over the hologram, showing the armada being almost completely annihilated.

            "It will be at this time that we will send our entire army to take care of the remaining half. The gateways in the shields act not only as large turrets outside the shield, but since they are the only method of getting _through the shield, it's like pinching the enemy through a bottleneck, and these gateways will be well guarded. After the threat of Andross is gone from our region of space, we will deactivate and recharge the shield."_

            "I see. Excellent plan, sir. Should we put it to action?"

            "I don't know, I still need some more recon first."

            "I see...what kind of recon? Certainly you're not still worried about..."

            "Derek? You mean the only person I've raised in my entire life? The one I treat almost like a son?!"

            Kurt shrunk back. "I'm...sorry sir. We still have no idea as to Derek's whereabouts since he went into the church...he must've found the tracker you put on the gun. However, we did recieve word that the Great Fox left the atmosphere and entered orbit with one extra life form. It just might be Derek, sir."

            "That's a relief."

            Pepper looked out toward the sky, watching the carnage unfold.

            "Um sir...the Planetary Defense Shield?"

            "Do it." Pepper nodded.

            "Um, sir..."

            "What is it NOW?"

            "The Great Fox..."

            "What about it?"

            "It's re-entering the atmosphere."

            "What?!"

            "And the main cannons seem to be charging...it's headed for the main battle over Corneria City."

            Pepper chuckled.

            "Derek my boy, what ARE you up to this time?"

==========================================

"The farther I fall, I'm beside you,

As lost as I get, I will find you,

The deeper the wound, I'm inside you,

Forever and ever I am a part of..."

"You and me, we're in this together now!

 None of them can stop us now!

 We will make it through somehow!"

                                                                                                                                                            --Nine Inch Nails, "We're In This Together"

==========================================

            "ROB, why the _hell are you entering the atmosphere? Why are you charging the cannons?" Fox asked._

            [-I AM UNABLE TO EXPLAIN MY ACTIONS ANY OTHER WAY. MY SENSORS INDICATE THAT I WOULD BE MORE HELPFUL IF I CAME DOWN HERE TO HELP YOU.-]

            "Dammit ROB!" Fox blasted two more ships over Corneria Square. "What possessed you to do something so _stupid_?!"

            [-I AM UNABLE TO EXPLAIN THE CIRCUMSTANCES...ACCORDING TO THE DEFINITION, YOU WOULD CALL IT...A CONSCIENCE.-]

            "You weren't _programmed to have a conscience!!"_

            "Actually..." Slippy uttered over the radio.

            "Actually _what?"_

            "I uh...kinda _did program ROB to learn."_

            "You did? Why didn't you tell us?"

            "Because I didn't think you'd enjoy listening to me ramble on and on about the ideas of Artificial Intelligence and how it's virtually impossible to create a machine that was capable..."

            "Alright already!! Can we just get back to kickin' ass?!!" Falco screamed.

            "Falco's right, Slippy. We'll discuss this later. ROB, keep Derek on the ship, I don't want him out here, understood?! AAH!!" Out from behind a building, three ships appeared at Fox's right wing, firing gatling lasers frantically. Rolling constantly, Fox used the G-diffuser's shield to deflect the shots.

            Just then, a large green laser fired from somewhere on the ground. It pierced the first ship's hull and took out another's wing. Firing two more beams, the mysterious helper took out the three ships threatening Fox's aerial supremacy, and even scored a hit on one more that was swooping down on the vulpine pilot.

            "You're a little late for that order, Fox!" Derek said, increasing the throttle on the Landmaster.

            "Derek!"

            "Oh great...the kid stole our tank!" Falco complained.

            "Stole?! For your information, ROB _allowed_ me to take it out!"

            "Whatever, you're out here now," Fox admitted. "Ok guys, ready to rock n' roll?"

            "I've been ready since we got out here!" Falco smirked.

            "This old man's ready for anything now!" Peppy laughed.

            "Ready...I guess," hesitated Slippy.

            "Yes," Derek responded, "I'm ready too."

            "Then let's get to it!"

-----------------------------

            "Kurt, how much longer is it going to take to activate the shield?" Pepper asked.

            "They said it would take about another four hours, sir."

            "I see."

            "Something wrong sir?"

            "I don't know how much longer we can hold out."

            "Permission to speak freely sir?"

            "Granted."

            "You look like you have something more on your mind."

            "Yes, it's true. Look out there, Kurt. Watch the Star Fox team out there for a moment."

            "I have been, sir, they're doing a tremendous job at cleaning up the city...most of the Venomian forces in the city sector are wiped out now."

            "Look more closely."

            "At what?"

            "There's another craft down there. Their tank, the Landmaster, is down there."

            "You're...you're right! But how..."

            "It's Derek."

            "Sir, pardon my saying so but you're worrying a little too much on that kid."

            "What do you mean?"

            "Well, I _was there when he recieved his wings and all, don't you think he's capable of handling a combat situation? That's what the Academy was all about, training for possible combat situations as well as offering a well-rounded education."_

            "I suppose you're right. How much longer now?"

            "Three hours, fifty eight minutes and twenty seven seconds."

            "It's going to be a long fight."

------------------------------

            After two hours of intensive aerial and ground combat, Corneria city was almost completely empty of Venomian fighters, thanks to the Star Fox team and Derek. Massive amounts of debris now littered the streets, and many of the skyscrapers were damaged by laser fire and bomb blasts, evident in the many broken windows and shards of glass that fell to the asphault below.

            As expected, the city was pretty much devoid of any civilians. Ever since the first invasion by Andross, Corneria City was home to many, many underground bunkers below the important structures and key buildings around the city. They could be under banks, business firms, financial offices, used-car lots, movie theaters, _anything. Only the military knew where they all were, and the civilians were all assigned to their closest residing one._

            Fox and his team were now patrolling the city, making sure that it was finally safe from harm.

            "They'll probably send a second wave...Andross always does," Peppy warned.

            "That's why we're patrolling," Fox reminded. "Anyone see anything?"

            "Actually..." Derek said, stopping the Landmaster and stepping out. "I think I found something odd."

            "What'cha got?"

            "I don't know," Derek walked closer to what once resembled a large banking firm. "There's this little device plastered on the side that's beeping and counting down...oh God."

            "What?! Counting down?!"

            "Fox! I think it's a bomb! They're all over this building!!! There's two on each side!"

            "Oh God...what the _hell?" Fox realized, slowly landing the arwing near a movie theater. "Here's another one...it's got about three minutes left. Why's it on the movie theater?!"_

            "Isn't it obvious?!" Peppy boomed. "They're targeting the civilian shelters! They're going to blow the cover right off and attack them when they're vulnerable!"

            "What?! Dammit!" Derek shouted, jumping back into the Landmaster and taking off down Main Street.

            Fox got back into the Arwing as fast as he could, but then the unexpected happened as he was taking off. Fox looked down at one of the bomb devices pasted on the theater and gasped.

            The countdown timer had changed from three minutes to five seconds.

            "C'mon...c'mon...up! UP!" Fox shouted at his ship, but it was too late.

            The blast came suddenly, blinding Fox momentarily with a flash of light and fire. The nose of the Arwing was pushed up and backward, and when Fox tried to correct himself, all he could really do was put the craft in a perpetual spin, flying only about ten feet above the ground. Finally, he came to a stop after crashing through the wall of a large warehouse across the street. The theater was completely leveled, the debris spilling into the streets below.

            "_Fox! Are you okay?!!" Peppy asked._

            Coughing, Fox struggled to respond. "I'm...I'm okay but the ship's busted...I'm gonna need some help and firepower over here!"

            "On my way," Derek said, revving up the Landmaster and charging forward at full throttle.

            "Thanks Derek. The rest of you keep flying up there...Andross' second wave is probably coming...I'm going to see what I can do about getting this damn thing back in the air."

            "Fox, are you sure you don't want _me_ down there?" Slippy asked.

            "No...don't come down here, we need your ship to stay in the air, and since it's only calibrated to you, it wouldn't make sense for me to fly it. If Derek gets here, I can use the Landmaster if I really need to. Besides, I'm pretty sure Derek's still a good shot with that cannon," Fox chuckled.

            "You know, I still hold the highest score in Gunner King," laughed Derek.

            "Oh boy, you can win at a game..._way to go..._" Falco remarked.

            "Yep...245,000 points...what was your highest again? Like Ninety thousand?"

            "Ninety-_five thousand," Falco corrected, giving a solid "hmph."_

            "One question I've got to ask is _how_ they knew where the shelters were?" Fox asked.

            "And how did they plant the bombs this low to the ground? I would've noticed something like that down here," Derek remarked.

            "We probably have Venomian spies down there, it wouldn't surprise me," answered Peppy.

            "Hmm..."

            "What is it, Derek?" Fox asked.

            "Well...since the Children of Lylat were down on the ground...do you think that Oleron could be behind it?"

            "Maybe. We didn't kill him. He was still breathing when I carried you out of there."

            "That's good," Derek smiled.

            "Why's that good?"

            "Because I have some unfinished business with Oleron."

-----------------------------

            Meanwhile, on a heavy military installation on Macbeth, one lone figure stood in his quarters, twirling his blaster with his fingers over and over again. Looking out the window, he saw the flag flapping in the breeze. A tattered flag. The flag of Andross' forces, the operators of the facility.

            "Hmph," he said. "Another reminder of all I'm good for."

            He walked over to the desk in the corner, his black boots clopping on the steel floor. Picking up a small picture frame, he stared into it with great intent. He looked at the two figures there, at the location the picture was taken.

            A life that was shattered.

            The two figures, both grey wolves, one of them obviously older than the other, but both wearing the pilot outfits issued to pilots on Katina. Silver wings on both their chests. The younger one seemed like he was only about thirteen or so, but the man didn't care, he knew that they were both scouted out at young ages to join the force...and how could they refuse?

            He picked up another picture frame. There was a wolf, standing tall, clad in a military uniform and a red cape. His weapons seemed odd to everyone who saw the picture, but the owner knew. It was the style this warrior used. A katana in combination with a gun, and it was lethal.

            "Dad...Lune..." he said.

            His mind flashed back to that day...He was only about twelve...his younger brother, Lune, was only about nine. A pair of gunshots rang out in the house...their father never even saw it coming. Soon, the ambulances arrived, but no one knew just how to break it to the young boys. Finally, someone walked up to the elder and told him that both their parents had been killed. No, assassinated.

            Why? The question still haunted the elder brother to this day. Who wanted him dead? Were they jealous? Was it just someone looking to make a name for themselves? Their dad was famous for his fighting style and his deeds...maybe the glory of killing him was its own reward.

            He wondered if the same could be said for him considering his current position.

            Walking back to the window, he adjusted his black jacket for better comfort, and looked out the window again, bored out of his mind. Behind him, a monitor flickered on.

            "Oh fearless leader! C'mon, we got work to do!" The reptilian face spoke.

            The man turned from the window and showed his caller his face. A grey wolf, with yellow eyes...yellow _eye. The other was covered by an eye patch._

            "Alright, Leon. Alright, I'm coming."

            "Good...Andross has some more units he's putting under our control...we don't have much time to waste, Wolf. He's also putting one of his highest elites in our unit!"

            Wolf O'Donnell shook his head. "We're not getting paid enough for this...first we're hired on to take out Star Fox in the first war, we lose, and now we've been forced to babysit the little bastards Andross throws at us."

            "He DID bring us back, you know."

            "I know, I know."

            It was true...the entire Star Wolf team almost died during that battle on Venom. Andross used his cloning technology to replace the missing tissue and reanimate them, in effect, resurrecting them. He's kept them "in debt" ever since then.

            Leon scoffed. "You're looking at those pictures _again?!_"

            "Yeah, what of it?!"

            "Nothing, it's just that you can't bring them back, Your dad and Lune are _dead, Wolf! Now hurry up!!" The monitor flickered off._

            Wolf walked over to the door and opened it, folding his arms across his chest.

            "Yeah, whatever," he said, slowly walking through the door.

==================================

"It's like I'm paranoid, looking over my back,

It's like a whirlwind inside of my head,

It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within,  
It's like the face inside is wrapped beneath my skin!!!"

                                    --Linkin Park, "Papercut"  
==================================

            "I don't belong with you, Fox," Derek said, sitting on a large piece of debris as Fox worked on fixing the Arwing.

            Fox almost spit out the screwdriver in his mouth. "What?"

            "You heard me. I don't belong with Star Fox."

            "Yeah, I heard you, but why are you saying that?"

            "Because it's true."

            "Ok," Fox hopped down, spit out the screwdriver, and folded his arms across his chest. "Why is it true?"

            "Well, when you guys start fighting, you seem to have this kind of rhythm, some kind of synchronization...you all fight at the same tempo. When I joined the fight, I didn't feel that sort of tempo...I was scared to death in that thing. I was scared that I'd die...or that I'd miss and hit one of you, or something...I brought the tempo of everyone else down."

            "Look, you're probably better off with us anyway. We all know being with Pepper isn't safe, and you wanted to help stop all of this, right?" Fox waved his hand across the sky.

            "Yeah, but...I don't want to be a detriment to the team."

            "Hey, we only have four Arwings...if we can get the Landmaster out as well, then it can only help us, right?"

            "I guess so."

            Fox put his hand on Derek's shoulder. "Look, I know it's a lot to take in...your religion betrays you and now you're being pulled into a team of 'legends,'" Fox said the last word with extreme sarcasm, "but you're coming with us, regardless. It's not like you're some complete stranger to us...Peppy, Falco, Slippy, they _all knew you from when we hung out when we were in high school!"_

            "And I was in middle school...I was kinda the odd man out."

            "You were also very mature for your age. In fact, you haven't even changed that much since then."

            "Yeah, but everything else did."

            "Well, you're never going to get anywhere if you keep looking at the negative sides of things. Look at yourself! You're a _human_ for god's sake...you're probably the most unique person anybody could meet! And I'm glad I met you."

            "Thanks Fox," Derek smiled.

            The warehouse rumbled.

            "What's that? Derek asked.

            "Who knows. The structure probably got damaged when I crashed into the side."

            A large, piercing shriek of metal sliding filed the air, along with a loud whoosh. They both didn't see what was going on until it was too late. A large steel girder had swung across from the second story landing's support structure and struck Derek soundly in the back of the head.

            "Derek!" Fox shouted, scooping the human up in his arms. "Derek, wake up! Are you ok?! Derek!"

            He felt Derek's neck and put his ear up to his mouth. "Good...got a pulse and he's breathing...thank god."

            After wrapping the a bandage around his head, Fox put Derek in the seat of the Landmaster and closed the hatch. "Take a nap, Derek."

            Derek, on the other hand, was far from taking a nap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Within his mind, hos own distorted dreams, Derek wandered through what he assumed was a large, blue chamber. There appeared to be no walls, no floor, no ceiling...just blue. The blueness seemed almost piercinglhy real as he stared long and hard looking for something..._anything...to break the eerie silence._

            "Derek," came a feminine voice.

            Turning around, Derek's gaze soon met the visage of a beautiful lady, human lke he was, with long, golden-blond hair. She was wearing the exact same clothes he was.

            "Who are you?" He asked.

            "I am called Caina," she said. "I am inside you."

            "What?"

            "I've always been inside of you, waiting for the right time to emerge."

            "What _are you talking about?"_

            "When you were born, I was placed inside of you, to serve a purpose."

            "And that purpose was what?"

            "To purge."

            Derek gasped at the notion. "What?"

            "To purge."

            "I heard that. What do you mean? Why are you purging?!"

            "The inferior ones, the ones who do not meet the ideals of our master."

            _Our_ master?" Derek asked. "Who?"

            "Doctor Andross...the giver of life."

            _WHAT?!!_"

            "Andross...he does what he does to create and preserve life."

            "If that's true, then why does he destroy so much more life than he preserves?"

            "Because he needs power to accomplish his goals. He needs us."

            "_Us?! Why are you putting me in all of this?"_

            "Look at me, look at us, Derek. We are one and the same."

            "Why haven't I seen you before?"

            "Because you were too strong...you resisted. But now..now your will has weakened, and I will arise."

            "Nice you know you're the bad guy...but I can't let you just take over my body!"

            "You also can not stop me," She said, rising up in the air.

            Derek grasped at her, but to no avail. She was too high in the air now, heading for a bright light in the sky.

            "Mayve if I help you, you will see things my way!" She said. "I will help you eliminate the spies on Corneria!"

            "Hey! Wait! What's going to happen to..."

            And then she was gone.

            "...me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Derek's eyes flared to life suddenly. Looking around, confused at first by his surroundings, he soon came to his senses and opened the hatch to the Landmaster.

            "Good, you're awake. I was getting worried about you buddy," Fox said, not even looking back as he worked on the Arwing. "It's kinda wierd, Andross didn't send his second wave like we thought he would...Peppy thinks that it was all just a scare tactic to get the military to guard the town while they attacked some other part of the planet. Didn't work though, since we're here to protect the city. Well, everybody but us are protecting it," he chuckled.

            "I know where the spies are," Derek said, coldly.

            "Huh?"

            Derek hopped out of the tank and pulled the band out of his hair, unravelling his ponytail, his hair hanging about four inches below his shoulders.

            "Yeah, you keep working on that, I'll go take care of them."

            "What?! Derek, look...you can't just go and 'take care of them.' I need yo here to watch the place while I work on this thing. Besides, who knows howmany of them are in there?"

            "They won't stand a chance."

            Fox finally turned around and grabbed Derek by the shoulders, shaking him. "LOOK! You can't just run off like this!" Then, Fox noticed Derek's eyes.

            "I'm sorry I have to do this, Fox," Derek said.

            His eyes flared again, and Fox released Derek's shoulders. He had to, because through some unknown force, he was sent flying about thirty feet back, smashing into the Arwing's nose. Moaning in pain, Fox watched as Derek walked away slowly, blaster in hand, toward a building that was just across the street.

            "His eyes..." he groaned, "they were...purple...?" And with that, Fox fell unconscious.

            "Fox......"

            The vulpine's ears twitched.

            "Fox..."

            "Uh...huh...?" Fox said, opening his eyes.

            "Fox!"

            Recognizing the voice of Peppy, Fox snapped awake. "Huh?! What?! What's wrong?!"

            "What happened, Fox? It's been almost two hours!!"

            "Two hours...Derek!" Fox suddenly realized.

            "What? What's wrong with Derek?"

            "He...he went _nuts, that's what's wrong. Something snapped and he used some kind of power to knock me out cold...his eyes were...they were..._purple!_"_

            "Purple?! Hmm...where is he now?"

            Fox looked across the street, at a small building, only about two or three stories tall. "He's across the street...god I hope he's okay...he said he was going to take care of the spies."

            "The spies?! He _knows where they are?!"_

            "Yeah, look I gotta go help him! Fox out!" He turned off his headset.

            Instantly grabbing his blaster, Fox dashed across the street to the building. The guards out front were already killed, put out by blaster shots to the head. The large metal door was open and bent sharply in the middle, two of the three hinges broken.

            "My god...what the hell did you _do_, Derek?"

            The hallway was just strewn with dead bodies...some of them flat in the middle, most of them leaning against the walls, covering the places they were shot with their hands, like they couldn't believe they had been shot...killed. All the way down there were constant reminders of that untapped power which Derek had displayed earlier toward Fox. Windows completely blown out, broken doors, guards killed without a single blaster wound, all of them struck Fox as straangely disturbing, as he flashed back to that one moment back at the Children of Lylat. Derek's uncontrolled emotions, that surge of rage, that scream of pain. Oleran didn't die there, and now Fox was thinking that Derek didn't want him to die.

            _I'm going to take care of the spies..._ Derek's words rang in his head. Realizing what was said, Fox started sifting through the pockets of the nearest guard, fishing out his wallet. Looking through, he found many things...identification, credit cards, and the most disturbing of all, pictures of the family he would no longer return to. Then he found them. The wings of the Venomian army, on the back of his military I.D.

            "They _are spies," he said, still holding his blaster, hoping he wouldn't have to use it on Derek._

            Going through one last door, the only one not destroyed, he found a large office. There were more corpses inside, killed indifferent manners. Catching a distant sound, Fox pointed his gun back toward the door he had just entered.

            It was Derek.

------------------------------

            "sir," Kurt spoke up.

            "What is it?" General Pepper startled, snapping out of his trance, which involved staring out the window.

            "The shield is charged, sir. Should we engage?"

            "Hold on, I gotta tell Fox about it."

            "Why, sir?"

            "Well, they might like to get out of the atmosphere before we activate it."

            "Yes sir."

------------------------------

            "Derek...what are you doing?" Fox asked, still pointing his blaster at Derek's chest.

            "I'm trying to get Derek to be more agreeable to my terms," Derek said, in a voice very unlike his own.

            "What? Wait, wait...you're _not Derek?"_

            "I am called Caina. I am a part of Derek. We are one and the same."

            "Oh, I see...so why are you here?"

            "To purge."

            "Purge? Purge who?"

            "The inferior ones, those who fail to meet Andross' expectations."

            "Andross1!!" Fox held his blaster farther out, not caring if it was Derek or not.

            "When Derek lost faith in his...faith, he became unsure of himself. And now, when he was unsure about his place among you, he felt truly alone, and I took my chance."

            "Unsure? Alone?"

            "He didn't feel like he had anyone to turn to, so I stepped in."

            "But...but he had us! He had me, and Falco, and Peppy, and Slippy, and General Pepper, _all of us!" Fox lowered his gun a little. "Why would he feel alone?"_

            "I do not know."

            "I have another question," Fox smiled a knowing smile.

            "Ask, and I shall answer the best I can."

            "If you ywo are parts of the same whole..."

            "Yes?"

            "Who do you have to turn to?"

            Derek...no...Caina gave a shocked look. "_What?!!_"

            "Who are you clinging to? I don't like you, all these people are dead because of you!"

            "I...I can't believe...AAH!!!!!!!!"

            Her screams echoed throughout the empty, haunted office. Dropping her gun, Caina clutched her head. "No! Not now! I just had control!!! NOOOO!!!!"

            Caina's eyes lost their purple glow, and Derek's voice became his again.

            "F...Fox......?" Derek asked weakly, falling to the floor.

            "Derek!" Fox said, dropping his gun and running to Derek, picking him up in his arms. "Derek..."

            "Fox...what did...what did she do? What did I...what did I do?"

            Fox looked around the building again, realizing that Derek was too weak to look around. He stared at the bodies again, remembering that soldier with his family pictures in his wallet...remembered the doors bent in and the shattered windows.

            "Nothing, Derek...I'll tell you all about it when we get out of here," Fox assured, scooping Derek up in his arms. He turned on his headset again. "Guys, I got Derek, anything new?"

            "It's about time!" Peppy scolded. "Pepper's got some kind of atmospheric shield that he's going to activate in about twenty minutes! We gotta move!"

            "I'll be there soon...got the Arwing working again."

            "What's wrong, Fox?"

            Leaving the building, with an unconscious Derek in his arms, Fox looked back at the building one last time.

            "...Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

=====================================

"This confort endlessly has pulled itself upon me...

Distracting...reacting...

Against my will I stand beside my own reflection...

It's haunting...how I can't seem...

...To find myself again, my walls are closing in..."

                                    --Linkin Park, "Crawling"

=====================================

            Meanwhile, on Macbeth, the new recruits Andross had put under Star Wolf's command had just been instated. Some of them remained in the hall to chat with friends of theirs, some of them went back to their quarters.

            Wolf went back to his.

            "Elite soldier...he wasn't even _here_..." He muttered to the monitor, Leon's face staring from it.

            "Well, maybe he got tied up somewhere. I for one can't wait to meet him."

            "Why? He's still uner our command. You just want to 'test' him, don't you?"

            "Hey, if he's good enough, he could become part of our team."

            "Yeah, if _I say so, don't forget that. Besides...we don't even know him."_

            "Not yet...oh, here we go. Apparently his shuttle was delayed because of the shield incident on Corneria."

            "What? What happened there?"

            "Something Andross didn't expect. The whole Cornerian attacking force was wiped out, at least, the large fleet was, when Corneria activated a really powerful shield. All those inside the shield were either caught or killed. Those outside fled, but about 80% of the ships were in the shield's path when it was energized."

            Wolf gave a hearty laugh. "Oops! God, Andross' stupid...always attacking that planet like they've always been unprepared..."

            Leon laughed as well. "Yeah. Oh! Here we go, his shuttle just arrived, and he's docking in area F...come on, let's go."

            "Oh man...Leon you have too much energy for this guy."

            "All right, lets see if I can put some perspective into how good this guy is. When he was surrounded by about fifteen Cornerian soldiers, he held them all off and beat them down, all with a sword, and _they_ had guns."

            "Yeah, right."

            "It's captured on video."

            Wolf cocked his good eyebrow. "Oh really? Hmm...maybe he's all right. Ok, ok, I'm on my way. Meet me at F."

            "On my way."

            "Um...Wolf? Where's Pigma and Andrew?" Leon asked.

            "Wolf shrugged his shoulders. "Pigma's probably eating...Andrew's probably sucking up to his uncle...Besides, we all know they never cared much for this unit."

            "True."

            Down the long hallway, the large door, leading to the shuttlecraft hissed open, and locked in place. Many soldiers filed out of there, all wearing traditional Venomian gear. Some of them carrying guns, a couple of them showing each other some kind of trading cards, some of them just walking with their bags of stuff. After a while, the crowd's numbers tapered off, until nobody was leaving the shuttle.

            "Hmph. No 'elite soldier' there," Wolf gruffed.

            The guard down by the door looked inside. "C'mon! Everybody off!" He called to someone inside.

            "Ah, maybe that's him."

            One last person left the shuttle then. Black boots clomping on the metal hallway, he constantly looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with everybody. His clothes consisted of blue jeans, a black sweater, and black, fingerless gloves, all covered up by a deep red trenchcoat. His shaggy hair hung down in his wolven face, most of it on the right side, covering his eye. But the one thing that caught Wolf's attention was the one thing that stood him apart from everybody else in the Venomian forces.

            In his hand, the soldier was carrying a katana.

            All those memories flashed back in Wolf's mind then. All the times his dad took to train him and his brother, Lune. Could this be Lune? No...it couldn't be.

            More memories came back to Wolf. Painful memories on Katina. They were both sent on a routine scouting mission...looking out for pirates and the like with his brother. Both of them being prodigies in the realm of aerial combat, they had graduated early..._way early. But this mission was the end for Wolf' career in the Katina Military Force. Some raiders took them by surprise, blasting both their engines and sending them spiraling in different directions. Wolf lost his eye in that fight, but what was worse, Lune was nowhere to be found. It was reported later that his ship had been completely destroyed. After a deep depression, Wolf left Katina behind, and turned to mercenary work._

            This couldn't be Lune. Lune was dead. Killed. Murdered.

            Flashing back to the present, Wolf watched as the crimson-clad wolf walked slowly down the hallway. He approached slowly, or maybe it was his normal pace? Finally, he reached the two members of Star Wolf, and kept on walking past on Wolf's side.

            It seemed like time had slowed down for both of them when he passed. Both of them turning their heads slightly to get a look at each other. Finally, Wolf put a hand on the soldier's shoulder.

            "Hold it," he said.

            The soldier stopped.

            "You're going to walk right by your superior officers and not even salute? YOu've got some nerve. I could have you killed for that."

            "Hmph. Yeah, right." The soldier said, brushing some of his hair out of his face.

            "Look, we're members of Star Wolf, your commanding officers, you got it?"

            "Yeah, I got it. _I'm the elite soldier assigned to your squan to save your sorry asses when they need saving." With that, the soldier turned back around._

            "Why you..." Wolf said, pulling out his blaster.

            With almost blinding speed, the soldier drew his blade, holding it about two inches from Wolf's neck. In his left hand, he held a blaster, which was pointed at Leon.

            "So, were you ever planning on asking me my name?"

            Wolf chuckled, obviously very amused. "Heh, sure, kid. Shoot."

            The soldier put his blade away, and holstered his gun. He turned, and slowly walked away, sword and sheath resting on his shoulder.

            "My name is Bane," he said, leaving the two Star Wolf members behind.

-----------------------------

            On the Great Fox, Derek stared out the window at the now shielded Corneria. Fingering his amulet, he felt almost overwhelmed at all the events that had happened within the span of two days. His faith betrayed, his discovery of his ancient species, his powers, and Caina...who the hell _was_ Caina? Why was she tormenting him?

            What's worse, he still felt like he didn't belong.

            "Something wrong, kid?" Falco asked, walking by the chair Derek was sitting in.

            "No, not really..."

            "You're a really horrible liar, kid."

            "Alright, then...I don't really feel like talking about it. I don't even belong here."

            Falco chuckled. "Too bad, kid. Fox wants you with us, and you're staying with us. Besides, where else are you gonna go? You're stuck here. Deal with it."

            Derek gave a small chuckle. "Good point."

            "Want a soda or something?"

            "Sure."

            Falco opened the fridge, and tossed a pop to Derek. "Well, I'm gonna go take a nap. Take it easy."

            "Thanks Falco. Later." And Falco left.

            Looking out the window one last time, Derek opened his pop and took a sip.

            "Deal with it...yeah, maybe I should take a lighter attitude toward this."

            Finishing the pop, Derek threw it away and started back toward his quarters.

            "But is there a lighter side to something so dark...?" He quietly asked the stars.

The End.

===================================

"I'm so tired of being here...

Suppressed by all my childish fears..."

                        --Evanescence, "My Immortal"

===================================


	3. All Too Human

Part 3 of "Humanity's Lost Claim"

"All Too Human"

by Bane Keldare

All characters are (c) Nintendo.

All lyrics are (c) their respective owners.

Bane Keldare and Derek Shyfter are (c) to me.

Notes: _Another installment, another story, yet another part of an inevitable whole. This series will eventually finish itself...God knows it doesn't need any help from me. It just keeps writing itself slowly._

_Yeah, this story's a lot more gruesome, gritty, and all around more adult than the last two, and it's happening this way for two reasons. One, I realized I don't care who's offended by this story...so I can put down what I really want, and should've done so with the last two. Also, this is the story where Derek starts to come to grips with how dark the real universe is, and as it gets darker, it becomes more and more obvious until the climax._

_On a side note, finally got to talk to Foxmerc, which was a big surprise from me cause in the Starfox fanfic community he seems almost celebrity...at least to me. When I first talked to him, I realized that I never finished reading his first main story. Last night I did. Let's see if I can relate the experience. Normally, when I play Final Fantasy games, I get so involved with them and the characters, that when the ending comes, and all the conflict is resolved, for better or worse, I feel this strange rush inside my chest watching the credits. I can't explain it better than that. Well...I got that from reading his first story all the way through._

_And, in turn, we seem to be inspiring each other. Heh. Well, on with the tale._

_                                                                                                            --Bane Keldare_

============================================

"I've woken now, to find myself

In the shadows of all I have created.

Been longing to be lost in you...

Won't you take me away from me?

                                    --Evanescence, "Away From Me"

============================================

            _I'm going to try, to the best of my ability, to explain all that I have experienced within the past 48 hours. It isn't going to be easy, but I think I should do this now, to help myself "deal with it," as Falco so bluntly put it to me. I need to get it past me, behind me. I have to see if I can sort everything out soon...because Fox wants me to help. How can I help if I'm my own worst enemy?_

_            I woke up that morning feeling great...I was getting my wings the next day and everything. Uncle Pepper was so proud...I only had to go one more day. And then I heard from Uncle that I was...something different. Unique. Special. _Human.__

_            That was the start of all of this, I suppose. I still know nothing about Humanity except just a name, and that they had psionic power. God...I've already done that a few times myself...I don't know how though. But then, at dinner, I learned everything about my church...god, I didn't even believe it! I didn't want to believe it. Oleran...why did you do it Oleran? Why did you keep me in the dark? Why did you kill Terace?_

_            No...Terace sacrificed himself for me. That feels even worse._

_            That surge rushed up in me...a combination of tears, anger, rage, sadness...and I blasted Oleron back with that power...what is this power? Why do I have it? I don't want it. After that, I woke up on the Great Fox...Star Fox's flagship...and convinced ROB to let me take the tank down to Corneria...I helped Fox, but was it enough? How did I do? I did find the bombs, Fox almost got killed by one of them...thank god those Arwings are so tough. He crashed into an old warehouse...and while I was helping him, when he needed me..._

_            ...I doubted myself. Again. And Caina showed herself._

_            All I could really gather from what Fox told me is that she's inside me, and she's just waiting for a moment of weakness. In actuality I have no idea if she's even in there anymore...she's only shown up once in my entire life. No...I take that back, maybe twice. I'm not sure about the first time. Fox said my eyes were purple, and he seemed like he knew what it meant. But, he shook his head and said to forget about it. Well, I don't think I can right now._

_            Fox tried to hide me from what Caina did...using my body and my powers...or maybe they're _her_ powers to begin with. But what Fox didn't realize was that when he was talking to Peppy, carrying me out of there, I saw, for a brief moment, all the bodies in the hallway...all those people with families and lives to lead...all dead because they chose the wrong side. No...they only chose a different side._

_            Well, on the bright side, I did get my wings. Seems pretty pointless now._

_            I don't know if this really helped but...I feel a little better. I'll update this thing soon. Signing off._

_                                                                                                            --Derek Shyfter_

                The door to Derek's quarters hissed open, Fox's voice coming from behind. "Mind if I come in?"

            "Go right ahead," Derek smiled, turning off the journal screen.

            "I heard you writing in here, what where you doing?"

            "Just writing in a journal...figured now would be as good a time as any to start one, what with all that's happened."

            "Yeah...sorry it's all been so overwhelming."

            Derek shook his head. "It's not your fault...it isn't even mine. There's a lot of outside forces at work that seem to be trying to take control of my life right now...hell, maybe I'm being controlled right now by fate to be here. I dunno."

            "Don't think too deeply on things like that, you're bound to depression quickly. I found that out after Dad died."

            "Yeah...I remember that day...and the day before."

            "You know, the day before it happened, you..."

            "...predicted it?"

            "How'd you...wait..."

            "I had a dream, after what happened with Oleran...when I fell into that coma. I watched myself hugging you and telling you I was sorry...and you didn't even know what I was talking about. Now I know what it feels like...I felt the same way when Uncle Pepper told me about the Children of Lylat."

            "Ah, I see. It is a little strange, isn't it?"

            "Yeah."

            Fox's ears picked up a slight sound. "What's that noise?"

            Derek turned the chair around briefly and turned a knob. The sounds of strong electric guitars began to fill the room.

            "My favorite music genre," Derek pointed out.

            "Ah, cool. I like that kind sometimes, techno, too."

            "Techno's okay."

            "Hey..." Fox walked over to the corner, picking up a large black case. Opening it, he found a brown acoustic guitar, laying in the red vinyl. "Didn't see you bring this on board."

            "I brought a few things from home when I got in the Landmaster, and then I went to help you...I figured you'd kidnap me anyways." Derek chuckled.

            Fox laughed. "Yeah, that was kind of the plan...after all, I _did leave you on the ship in the first place." Fox picked up the guitar and examined it. "You know how to play it?"_

            "Yep." Fox handed him the guitar.

            Derek wrapped the strap around his neck and held the guitar in his hands. "Haven't played in awhile." Grabbing the pick, he first strummed all the chords to get a feel for it again. Seconds later, he remembered his favorite song, and began to play it almost flawlessly, making a few slip-ups every now and then, flinching each time he made one. At the end of the song, Fox stood up and clapped.

            "You're pretty good...maybe you should be Star Fox's resident musician."

            "Maybe...I'd be much happier doing that than what I'm doing now."

            "And that would be...?"

            "Trying to figure everything out."

            Starting to leave, Fox turned back from the doorway. "Don't try too hard, bud. It'll just make you more unhappy in the end. Now c'mon...General Pepper's supposed to call soon, and I'm sure he wants to see you."

            "Ok, just let me put my guitar away."

            The door hissed shut, and Derek removed the guitar, placing the pick back in the slot in the case. Putting the guitar back into the red vinyl, he left the case open as he walked out the door.

            "Maybe I'll have a little more time to play after Uncle Pepper's message," he said, walking toward the bridge.

------------------------------

            "Wolf, Pigma and Andrew are ready...should we 'test' him?" Leon asked over Wolf's monitor.

            "God damn...you're _really looking forward to this, aren't you?" Wolf chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck._

            "Well...yeah! Come on, you saw how he acted toward us in the hall. You're gonna let him get away with that?"

            "It's just the way he is, why should I change that? Besides, I also remember that little stunt he pulled when I was pulling out my gun...had both of us pinned down at that point."

            "True," Leon acknowledged, "but it must've been luck."

            Wolf shook his head and sighed. "Fine...go ahead and 'test' him, but if he kicks your sorry asses I'm gonna laugh long and hard."

            "Fine. Be that way." The monitor blinked off.

            Wolf chuckled. "I hope you heard all that, Bane."

            Stepping out from behind the curtain, crimson-clad Bane cocked an eyebrow. "What was that all about?"

            "Nothing...sorry about that. I meant to talk to you, not hide you."

            "So what did you want to talk about?"

            "Well...ok. I'm going to be honest with you, I'm intrigued by your sword style. I saw that tape on Corneria and I realized it looked very familiar. In fact, it looked almost identical to my father's style before he was killed."

            "Ah yes...your father was Jared O'Donnell, correct?" Bane asked, looking at the pictures, shifting the weight of the scabbard in his hand.

            "Yeah, so you heard of him."

            "He was my inspiration for my style...I was always fascinated with swords when I was a kid, but the military didn't really have a high esteem for weapons other than firearms. So I set out to prove that I could fight like Jared did."

            "Just like Lune..." Wolf sighed.

            "Lune?"

            "My brother...he was killed on Katina. That's how I lost this eye," Wolf pointed to his face.

            "Oh. Sorry."

            "Don't worry about it. The reason I'm going on about your sword technique was because, frankly, I wanted to believe you were Lune...they never did recover his body, after all. Sorry, it isn't really becoming of someone like me to have a soft side, but..."

            "Look, war changes people, and then it changes them again and again and again. You just had some quiet moments to reflect on things like this. I admit, my being here isn't cooincidental. I wanted to work with Star Wolf. Sorry if my presence brings about some pain."

            "Whatever," Wolf stared out the window.

            "Guess I'll go pass my test then. But listen, don't go easy on me because I remind you of your brother. My last name is Keldare, not O'Donnell."

            Then, Bane left, the door hissing shut behind him.

            "Are you sure about that?" Wolf asked the door.

            Outside, Bane walked around a small courtyard. Surprised that a Venomian base would have a garden, he stopped for a moment and took in the scenery, breathing in an air of peace.

            "Hello, Mr. Keldare," came a snooty voice.

            "Leon...to what do I owe the pleasure?" Bane said, not even turning around.

            "Oh, no particular reason. We find you as a more...special soldier in our unit, and we want to test you."

            Pigma and Andrew walked out on both sides of Bane, but he didn't even turn around.

            "I'll have you know, I'm an expert in several martial art styles, and I have no intentions of holding back," Leon said.

            Bane pulled out his blade, and examined it in his hands. "Looks like I'm going to have to hold back though. Can't have three of my leaders dead, can I?" He walked over to a soft spot in the ground and firmly planted it blade-down in the earth. He then held the sheath in the exact same way he normally held his sword.

            "You're going to fight us off with _that?_" Pigma laughed.

            "You'd be surprised what this can do by itself, it is metal, after all. Don't let the paint fool you. Now, come on then."

            "You'll be sorry!" Andrew jeered, charging. His huge fist raised high in the air.

            Dodging Andrew's right hook, Bane swung his sheath as hard as he could, clonking the simian on the side of the head. He then followed up with a powerful overhead arc, crashing the sheath down on Andrew's head..._hard._ The ape fell to the ground, stunned.

            "Next," Bane nodded toward Pigma.

            "I...uh...I forgot about something...my stew! Yes...my stew!" Pigma screamed, running off.

            "_Coward!" Bane and Leon both shouted, chuckling. Bane turned around and pointed his sheath at Leon, who was in a traditional Ninjitsu style stance._

            "Ready?" Bane asked.

            "Ready," Leon nodded.

            They both charged each other, Bane bringing the scabbard up from his right side, Leon blocking with his arm. His left foot attempted a kick, but Bane used his right knee to block that. Bringing that leg forward, Bane managed to connect with Leon's stomach, but didn't expect Leon to counter so quickly with his left hook, followed by a jab, and an uppercut to Bane's jaw.

            Bane stumbled backward, holding his face. "Wow, you really _aren't_ holding back, huh?"

            "Nope."

            "Guess it's time to get serious," Bane said, throwing off his red trenchcoat and getting back in his ready position.

            Leon was the first to charge this time, leaping in the air to attempt a jump kick. Bane caught his foot with his left hand and between his right elbow. Swinging the chameleon's body around, he forced Leon to slam into a nearby tree, yelping in pain. This was the moment Bane waited for. When Leon stood, still partially dazed, Bane twirled around and used the momentum of the spin to drive the sheath across Leon's face. He then stopped himself, spun the other way, and brought his weapon up upon Leon's jaw. Finally, his last blow, Bane performed a backflip, his foot catching Leon in the jaw once more, forcing him to the ground, out cold.

            Pulling his blade from the ground, Bane sheathed it and snatched up his coat, hanging it over his shoulder.

            "Hmph. I guess I pass," he said, brushing some of his shaggy hair out of his eyes.

=========================================

"So much on my mind...given so little time...

There's no way to hold on as it passes by...

So lead me into denial, we'll forget for awhile...

...Stay with me, please don't go..."

                                    --Celldweller, "Stay With Me"

=========================================

            All the team members were assembled on the bridge in one way or another. Slippy sat over by the old jukebox, listening to his tunes, at a reduced volume. Peppy was asleep in a chair by the window, Falco stood, arms crossed, looking down at the floor next to the exit, and Fox was in his normal seat, reading something on the screen in front of him. Derek rested his head on his hand, looking out the window as well.

            The traditional fanfare sounded, and Pepper's holographic 3-d head appeared in the center of the chamber. Everyone turned their attention quickly.

            "'Bout time, General, we were gettin' bored," Falco scoffed.

            "Sorry, but I had some last minute business with the crew maintaining the shield."

            "So what's up, General? How goes the war?" Fox asked, hoping the joke would resound, but it failed horribly.

            "Terrible...Corneria's the only mass in this system that _isn't_ under attack, next to Solar! Katina's holding the enemy off for now, Aquas is...well still Aquas I guess. Zoness forces are almost gone, Macbeth and Titania were taken really early on! I'm surprised Katina's doing as well as it is!"

            "That sounds like a mission..." Fox said, wagging his finger.

            "Indeed. Katina is in need of your help again, Star Fox. More importantly, Major Grey is in need of your help."

            "_Major Grey? As in Bill Grey?" Fox's eyes widened._

            "Yes. Let me give some background. You remember that portion of Katina you defended from that saucer eight years ago?"

            "Yeah, but it was just a military base, right? That pyramid-like place?"

            "Yes. Well, it turns out that this base isn't a base at all. It's a school. It's an academy for the Katinan Elites...the best of the best of the Katinan Army. Major Grey was assigned to protect this particular sector once again, only this time their forces were overrun...and now he's being held somewhere inside the academy. Look, it's not like we're asking you to save the planet, but if you can get these Elites in the fray, then the tide would change very quickly."

            "I see. So basically, you want us to liberate the academy. Alright. By the way, what about the pay from our last job?"

            Pepper chuckled. "Due to several factors, I had no choice but to triple your fee. Also, because you are taking care of Derek, I am now able to finacially support you with CDA funds, due to the fact that Derek is part of the CDA, and a very special one at that."

            "And how much is this 'support' worth?" Falco inquired.

            "Five thousand for every twenty-four hours which Derek is with you. Agreed?"

            "That's better than we expected," Peppy's face brightened.

            "Alright then. Before I go, I'm just going to ask one question to Derek. Derek...are you okay?"

            Derek flashed back the entire 48 hours in his mind for a few seconds before he responded. "Yeah...I'm okay."

            "I hear you're to be congratulated for discovering those spies on Corneria! Good work, boy!"

            "But I didn't do it..." Derek started.

            "...Alone! He didn't do it alone...I helped too," Fox butted in.

            "Fine work, both of you. Oh, by the way, Derek, Dr. Karol says hi."

            "Dr. Karol?" Fox scratched his head.

            "She's the one that did all those tests on me to determine my species...Oh, by the way, I also grabbed that package from home."

            "I saw that, well I'd best leave you guys to it. Pepper out." Pepper's face blinked out.

            "Why'd you do that, Fox?" Derek asked.

            "Look, I don't think we should tell Pepper what's going on with you...he has his mind on too much already."

            "Okay."

            "Well, I guess we're off to Katina...it'll take awhile guys, so go rest up," Fox said, returning to his screen.

            Falco had already left, and Derek slowly returned to his chambers.

            "Back to war..." he said. 

            Sitting in the hangar of the Great Fox, leaning against one of the landing feet for one of the Arwings, Derek strummed his guitar. He could hear some distant metal clanking, so he knew someone was already in there. It didn't matter, though. He wanted to play somewhere with an echo...and the hangar was the best place.

            _But what to play...? Derek thought._

            His mind went back to the package he picked up from his house...something that Dr. Karol had sent him. She was the first one to find out about his being human. The package was something he didn't expect to recieve. CD's...but not just any CD's...they were copies of other CD's...apparently very old CD's.

            Human CD's.

            _I figured you might have some more appreciation of what's on these than some museum...so I pulled some strings and made copies for you...I know there's only about sixteen or so but they're hard to find nowadays. The General mentioned you liked to play guitar so maybe these will be a nice surprise for you._ Dr. Karol's note was nothing if not an understatement.

            Derek strummed the guitar again, and began to play a tune on one of the CD's..."Wasted" by a group called Stabbing Westward.

            "_I've spent...my life...running from an emptiness that haunts me..._

_            And I've spent...my whole life...trying to fuck the lonliness away..._

_            And I die...inside...when I think of all the people I have damaged..._

_            I'm tired...I'm so tired...but I'll find a way to keep myself alive..."_

            Before he got to the chorus, he was interrupted by the sound of Falco clearing his throat. "Not bad, kid. Maybe sometime you an' me can jam," Falco said, stepping out from behind his arwing, shades in hand. "Heh, forgot my shades in the ship."

            "You play?" Derek asked.

            "Yep. Of course, I prefer electric to acoustic."

            "Ah. Only reason I got this one is because I had to buy my guitars...and electric ones were so expensive."

            "Yeah, that's cause you bought 'em on Corneria. They're cheap over on Venom."

            "I hear everything's cheap over there."

            "Yeah, including the service," Falco joked, both of them laughing afterward. "So kid, you ready to go back into the fray?"

            "I guess I'll be okay in the tank."

            Falco shook his head. "Uh-uh. This is just one facility, which usually means ground mission. Peppy looked into it, there's no major air or ground units at the base, just heavy military personnel. Break in, take out the guards, break everyone out. Simple."

            Derek gulped heavy. "I...I see..."

            "You got every damn right to be scared, kid...I was scared shitless my first mission."

            "Yeah, but what's everyone going to be doing?"

            "Well, me and Fox are probably going to be the main guns, maybe you too. Slippy's probably going to hack security, and Peppy's going to be directing us. He's too old for ground missions anyway. I'm pretty sure it'll go like this: We go in with Slippy and take the central computer system or something, and he'll hack in and relay the floor maps to Peppy, along with any current information. From there, You, Fox, and me will go and leave Slippy to disable security, and we'll go and get the prisoners out, and arm them. They _are_ Elites, after all. After that, we clean up, make sure they get to their ships, and clear out. Mission complete. Oh, yeah, and Fox'll probably be looking for Bill Grey...they're close friends you see. We _might_ leave you to guard Slippy, but I'm sure he'll be fine if the room can be heavy-locked."

            "Ok...doesn't sound too hard."

            "It's a lot harder than it sounds, trust me."

            "Yeah. Any tips?"

            Falco pointed to the blaster that was on the inside of Derek's coat. "You see that?"

            "Yeah."

            Falco gave a stern look. "You'd better be ready to pull that fuckin' trigger."

-------------------------------

            "Wow, I guess he is an elite soldier after all," Wolf chuckled, looking at Leon's face. Leon plopped down on the couch in the recreation hall.

            "Shut up."

            "I warned you, dumbass. But _no...you had to go and 'test' him...now look at yourself. You're probably lucky he didn't use his sword."_

            "Oh? Like you know."

            "He did tell me that he's emulating my father's technique, right down to the whole 'sheath as a weapon' part. I didn't believe it 'till I watched your sorry asses get almost _raped by him." Wolf laughed heartily. "Pigma ran so fast...my GOD that was funny. You guys were totally _owned._"_

            "Wolf, seriously, shut up."

            "I told you I'd laugh. Don't spoil the moment," Wolf continued to chuckle. "God, look at you!" The chuckle broke back out into laughter as Wolf pointed at the bandage over Leon's nose. "Ow...god...that's some funny shit..." Wolf held his sides as the laughter caused him mild pain.

            Leon continued his angry glare. "So, what's your verdict?"

            "Well, I'm pretty sure Andross assigned him to be part of Star Wolf anyways...I suppose he's in. I heard Star Fox got some new recruit, too...might as well change with the times. I'll go call him...maybe it'll stop me from laughing myself to death," Wolf said, exiting, leaving Leon alone in his anger.

            In his quarters, Bane was resting on his bed, staring around the room at different objects he had used to give it some kind of feeling like a home. The normal desk with a couple of pictures from his past, a few katanas hung up here and there, decorative of course. A black case with his preferred selection of firearms, most of them pistols. The contents included A black M-98 laser pistol, two grey M-56 blasters, two Desert Eagles, two automatic 9mm Uzis with ammo, a mini-shotgun, which was basically a sawed-off which was modified for conventional use, and his favorite guns, two silver .357 revolver pistols. The ammo was rare...sometimes he had to make the bullets himself, but they were his preferred guns for two reasons. They were powerful, and they didn't give away where the shots were coming from like blasters did.

            Then he looked at his sword, sorry for the lies he told to Wolf...but how could he reveal the truth? _Nah...I'm sure he's smart enough to figure it out...he was so close but then he shut it out of his mind...why did I shoot him down? He was right..._

            Standing up, Bane walked over to the desk, and examined the pictures again, a tear running down his cheek. Suddenly, the monitor blinked on.

            "Bane!" Wolf's voice spoke, still chuckling a little. "Come to our rec room, we got something for ya!" The monitor flickered off.

            Looking back at the pictures, a small memory from two years ago flashed in his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Two years ago, on the planet Titania, Bane found himself mixed up with a ragtag group of bounty hunters, all looking for the next big score. They wanted to be called a mercenary group, but...well they only did ground missions, not big things like Star Fox did. The large armored carrier rumbled along the hot desert sands, bounding over dunes like they were nothing. Everyone sat in the back except the driver. Bane gave a stern look.

            "Something wrong?" A female spoke from beside him.

            Bane shook his head, holding his sword. He didn't wear his red coat at this time. "I'm fine. Could you describe the mission?"

            "Yeah, you were sleepin' when we got it. Basically there was once this facility that Captain Shears of Corneria was using to resurrect Andross...we helped stop it with Star Fox's help before. Basically we're returning to the ruins...apparently 'Nephew' misses his uncle."

            "Andrew's there, eh? Interesting...but I bet he's just a clone. In fact, I'd stake my life on it."

            "Not a bright idea, there _are more troops there than just Andrew."_

            "I stake my life on lots of things, I'm not afraid."

            "I can tell. Anyways, we gotta find out what he's up to and stop it if possible. Got it?"

            "Yeah, I got it," Bane gruffed.

            _What was her name again? God, that was two years ago..._Bane thought inside the memory.

            "Are you sure you're ok?"

            _Oh yeah...her name was...was..._

            "I told you, I'm fine."

            _Katt__ Monroe..._

            The facility was easy enough to breach...it was already in ruins from the first time it was used and broken in to. The troops were pitifully armed, and therefore, easy targets. Katt's group swooped in for the kill as they swarmed the base. Only she and Bane went into the chamber where Andross was resurrected.

            "What the hell...?" Bane asked, looking at all the moldy slime on the floor.

            "Yeah, that's the residue from when Fox found this place," Katt explained.

            At the far end of the large chamber, they saw Andrew, hunched over a computer, blissfully unaware of the two mercenaries behind him.

            "Hey shithead!" Bane called.

            "Lune!" Katt hit his shoulder.

            _Oh yeah...I was still going by that name back then..._

            "What? Yeah! YOU!!!" Bane screamed. Andrew turned around.

            "Please don't stop me...I'm looking for uncle..." he said.

            Bane pulled out his revolvers. "And why are you looking for him?"

            "Because I want to know why..." Andrew said, beginning to sob.

            "Why what?" Katt said, pointing her own blaster at him.

            "Why...he made me...I'm just a fake...a copy..."

            "Hey, shit happens. Deal with it," Bane said coldly, advancing in short steps.

            "I'm not going to let you stop me! I've come too far now!!!" Andrew shrieked, pulling out his own blaster, but it was too late. Two loud cracks echoed, two bullets rocketed into his lower torso, blood spraying out the back and dribbling down the wounds. The sulfery smell of Bane's recently fired revolvers now overpowered Katt's sensitive nose.

            "Lune! Why the hell did you do that?!" Katt gasped.

            "Because it was our job," he replied, putting his guns away.

            "Our JOB was to STOP him!" She complained.

            "Can you think of a better way?"

            Bane walked closer as Andrew began to cough up spats of blood, spitting them out and groaning in pain. "I may be a clone...but the _real_ Andrew won't be happy! And neither will Star Wolf!!"

            "Star Wolf?! As in Wolf O'Donnell?" Katt gasped.

            "Yeah, and they'll be on your ass like white on..." Andrew couldn't finish the sentence, because Bane had shoved his katana deep into the simian's back, feeling the point of the katana slam into the ground underneath. In a matter of seconds, Andrew was dead, sprawled in a pool of his own blood. Calmly, Bane walked back to Katt.

            "Lune! That was totally cold! How could you?!"

            "You're right..." Bane said, walking back towards Andrew. Grabbing his blade, he pulled it out with a quick jerk, and held it, blade pointing backward, as he started walking out of the chamber, blood dripping off the point of the curved blade.

            "Why the _hell did you kill him!!! Answer me, Lune!"_

            Bane looked down at his sword, and didn't really feel like cleaning it off.

            "Fucker deserved it," he said, his footsteps echoing out of the chamber.

            "Hey Katt, I think I'm going to leave the group soon. Could you drop me off at the town?" Bane said, deeply.

            "What? You're leaving? You've been here for a year, and you're leaving just like that?"

            "Look, I have nothing against you, it's just that...I realized that Star Wolf's still out there."

            "So? What does that have to do with you?"

            "There's something I meant to tell you awhile ago, but never did because it never seemed relevant." Bane pulled out a picture of him and Wolf together. "Wolf's my brother. My full name's Lune O'Donnell."

            "Serious?!"

            Bane pulled out his Katinan I.D. and let Katt read it.

            "You are...! So why are you going?"

            "Because I want to get back together with my brother. He doesn't know I'm alive."

            "Why didn't you just _tell him?"_

            "You think he'd believe me? Some sultry guy in black clothes with a sword, showing up to tell that cyclops that I'm his brother, who he thought was dead? Get real. I just want to be near him...even if it means joining the wrong side."

            The carrier pulled into the spaceport town, and they all exited the craft.

            "Oh, and don't call me Lune anymore."

            "Why not? You're already the bane of everything else in your life, and you want to throw away your own _name_?"

            "Bane...hmm...good one. From now on, call me Bane."

            Bane held out his hand, Katt took it and shook. They embraced, and backed off once more.

            "See you around the galaxy, Bane," she smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Shaking his head, Bane finally managed to clear out the memory from his mind. As he looked at the pictures, he remembered the pictures in Wolf's quarters. The same pictures.

            One of two brothers in Katinan garb, the other of a soldier wearing a red cloak.

            "So close...I'm so close now. But now I...I feel like I want to be farther away."

            The door to the recreation hall hissed open, and Bane stepped inside. "You wanted to see me?" He asked.

            "Yeah," Wolf said, walking toward him. "Got somethin' for ya. Take it or leave it, it's really up to you," reaching into his pocked, the one-eyed lupine fished out a small insignia. The shape was similar to the Star Fox logo, except for the eye patch over the eye.

            It was the wings of Star Wolf.

            Bane took it gently, rotating it with his fingers, and then putting it on the lapel of his trenchcoat. "Didn't expect this...but why?"

            "Look, as much as I rag on Leon, he's a good guy...except for a few things." Wolf seemed lost in thought, but then shook his head. "Anyways, he's really good at fighting, and if you can handle a ship like you can your own hide, then you gotta be good, and I'd rather have you on my team makin' us more money than anything!"

            Bane chuckled. "I see, good to know you have priorities."

            "You know it! Oh, by the way, we got a mission today, your first as a member of Star Wolf."

            "And that would be...?"

            "Apparently Star Fox got a new crew member, which Andross is dearly interested in...normally I'd turn down a kidnapping job, it isn't my game. But Andross offered almost five times our normal ground-mission fee...I couldn't refuse."

            "Why's that ape so interested in this guy?"

            "According to the report, he's a human."

            "That's impossible."

            "It _was impossible...but he's the last of his species, and you know what the ancient texts say about humans."_

            "Yeah...almost phenomenal psionic power of some sort, right?"

            "Somethin' like that. Anyways, we gotta grab his ass and take him somewhere, dunno where yet. It seems they're going to Katina, the Academy of the Elite."

            "Academy of the Elite?!" Bane gasped.

            "Yeah...why?"

            Realizing his mistake, Bane coughed. "No reason...just...isn't it dangerous to go and take on an entire academy of top soldiers?"

            "They're already captured, don't worry."

            "Oh. Well, give me a photo of this guy."

            Wolf pushed a small button, and a holographic image of Derek Shyfter appeared.

            "He's just a kid! Must be barely 18..."

            "So? What's wrong?"

            "Nothing...I just have a sense of morality, that's all."

            "Morals!" Wolf turned off the hologram. "The only morals in Star Wolf are in the money, don't fuckin' forget that."

            Bane shrugged and began to walk out of the room.

            "You're the one who wanted me on the team. Don't fuckin' forget that," he mocked, stepping back through the door.

==============================================

"One step closer...

One step closer to my fate...  
One step closer!

One step closer...to the grave!"

                                    --Fear Factory, "Digimortal"

==============================================

            The moment had arrived, and Derek still couldn't believe it was time already. He was scared...scared "shitless" as Falco crudely put it. Standing in the Great Fox's armory, he watched as Fox started picking out guns for him to use, Falco doing the same, while Slippy examined the tools he needed. His multi-tools, his laptop, and a bag full of other kinds of connectors and wires.

            Derek had no idea what to do.

            Fox looked up toward Derek, shaking his head. "Go ahead, pick some weapons."

            "I...I dunno what I want...I've never really had to choose before."

            Picking up an automatic blaster rifle, Fox handed it to the boy. "Here, start with this."

            Hesitantly, Derek grabbed it and put the strap around his shoulder. About that time, he realized that he needed to be some part of the team...how could he belong if he didn't try? So he walked around the armory, selecting a few choice weapons. Blasters with silencers, a couple of smoke bombs, some flashbangs, and of course, extra packs of blaster energy cells. Walking over to the corner, he picked up a sniper rifle and two small 5-round clips.

            "This could come in handy."

            "Ok then," Fox nodded. "Everyone ready?"

            They all nodded, departing the Great Fox on the ship's transport buggy through the hangar, all except Peppy, of course.

            "Ok guys, we're gettin' close," Slippy said. "Perimeter fence is dead ahead...odds are it's electified, so we gotta hit the circuit breaker."

            "Shit!" Fox realized. "I didn't grab the rifle!"

            Derek snickered, and pulled it out from behind where he was sitting. Everyone sighed with relief.

            "Nice one, how'd you know to grab it?" Fox inquired.

            "Well, I always had a knack for sniping back in the CDA...so I figured maybe it'd come in handy. I always feel better shooting from afar, makes me feel like I'm outside looking in, through the scope."

            "Hmm...I guess that's a good way of looking at it." The buggy stopped. "Ok, then...we'll leave the sniping to you while we go work on the fence."

            They all stepped out of the buggy, Fox, Falco, and Slippy heading toward the fence, but not getting too close. On a nearby ridge, Derek kneeled on one knee and began to look through the scope.

            "It's the red box, right?"

            "Yeah, should be...why? There more than one?" Slippy asked.

            "Yep. A red one and a grey one. You're sure it's the red one?"

            "Positive, shoot it!"

            Derek took aim, the crosshairs almost perfectly on the box. His heartbeat threw his aim off a little with every beat, so he remembered the trick to firing a precise shot. Always let the gunshot come as a surprise as you slowly squeeze the trigger. Don't jerk to fire. Let the bullet shoot itself.

            It did come as a surprise, but to Derek only, because of the silencer. The bullet flew through the outer chain-link fence, through the inner fence, and slammed into the red box. Through the scope, Derek could see the electicity crackling around as it desperately tried to ground itself. After a few seconds, it gave up, and the humming around the perimeter fence ceased.

            "Nine bullets left," Derek exhaled, as he walked over to join his comrades.

            "Told ya it was the red one," Slippy said, not even looking back as he cut the fence with his multi-tool's wire cutters.

            The sound of Derek's rifle rang again, followed by an explosion from off to their side. Derek stood there, still taking aim. Within his sights, a crashed hover-camera unit, set to scout around the perimeter fence.

            "Eight bullets left," he nodded.

            The fence was cut now, but another bot was on its scouting patrol. Derek's rifle fired again, with another destructive blast.

            "Seven."

            "God _damn, kid...you might have Fox beat...you're three for three!" Falco said, shocked._

            "Heh...245,000 on Gunner King..." Derek chuckled. "Guess I'm the good shot of the group."

            Fox chuckled. "Heh, well you're good, I'll give you that. You just hold on to that rifle 'till we get inside."

            They all crawled under the hole in the fencing, making mad dashes toward the next fence. This one was much lower, with no barbed wire over the top. Scrambling over, the four ducked behind in a small alleyway.

            "Peppy, how're we getting in?" Fox asked.

            "Ok...see that small road leading down?" Peppy's voice sounded over the headsets.

            "Yeah."

            "That leads down to a freight elevator...probably the best way in. It's not guarded very well at the top, but I have no idea what the security is on the inside."

            "Alright."

            Fox peeked around the corner toward the road. There was the elevator, surrounded by many stacks of large wooden and metal crates. Darting between the crates, Fox effortlessly shot the guards with a silenced blaster, their bodies crashing to the soil beneath them. Waving his teammates over, he started toward the elevator's switch, keeping a lookout for cameras.

            Derek trailed behind Slippy, still feeling a knot in his stomach, which tightened when he heard Fox kill the two guards...tightened even more when he saw the bodies...in poses all to familiar.

            They reminded him of the spies on Corneria.

            "No...I gotta keep going," he clutched his amulet.

            "What?" Slippy asked.

            "Nothing...I just twitched a little, that's all."

            When they all reached the elevator, Fox pressed the button on the switchboard, and it activated, descending into the dark freight dock below.

            "How you holdin' up, kid?" Falco asked Derek.

            "I...I'm okay...I just didn't expect I'd have to..." he gulped, "...kill anyone."

            "I told you, be ready to pull the trigger."

            "Yeah...it's just that I...nevermind. I shouldn't start in on this now...maybe when the mission's done. But I have this sickening feeling."

            "What now?" Fox groaned.

            "Nothing...I just have this feeling something bad's going to happen."

            "Do you think it's Caina playing some kind of trick on you?"

            Derek shook his head. "If Caina takes control of me, I'm a lot safer than I am now...at least _she_ has control over these powers I have. All I have is my sanity and my guns...and my sanity might be in short supply."

            "Look, if you want, you and Slippy can work the security system, me an' Falco can clean up."

            "Yeah," Slippy nodded. "I could use a guard."

            "I...guess so. Yeah, I think I'll do that," Derek agreed.

            "Alright, there's a main elevator on the bottom...the central security system is located on the second floor, in the north wing of the building," instructed Peppy.

            "Yo! We got company!" Falco whispered, pointing over the edge of the railing. At the elevator's landing there were about six or seven guards, all of them heavily armed, all of them pointing their attention toward the elevator. When it landed, Fox gave the most clear-headed, planned out order he could give.

            "Scramble!!!" He shouted, everybody ducking behind crates.

            Fox darted out from his position, firing madly before being forced back by intense blaster shots, the automatic kind. Two guards approached where he was hiding behind. They almost got to him, too, until Fox noticed a bright flash coming from around the corner. Firing madly, the guards yelped in pain, before the sound of something metal slamming into metal clanged. Bravely, Fox peeked around the corner, Derek giving the thumbs-up as he stood over two guards, one of them unconscious, one of them dead, with the sniper rifle in his hand, held by the barrel. 

            "Six! Glad I grabbed the flashbangs, too! Ack!" Derek jumped as Fox fired his blaster at Derek's head. The heat from the laser warmed his neck as it flew past, right into a guard behind him, forcing him into the grave as he slumped to the ground.

            "Not the best time to talk, Derek!" Fox shouted, both of them running in different directions.

            Falco and Slippy hid behind a large crate that wasn't too high...it was about the same height as Falco himself. Two guards approached from different sides of the crate, waiting for one of the intruders to make a jump-out shot.

            "They're coming!" Slippy warned, frightened.

            Holding on to both of his guns, Falco breathed deeply, and leapt high in the air, performing an aerial backflip. Firing his guns like mad, he forced his weight farther back to land properly, which he did on top of the crate. Both of the guards crashing down in pools of blood. Turning to his left, he picked off the last guard, shooting in a cross pattern; the soldier falling with a spray of crimson.

            Giving a heavy sigh of relief, Derek was glad it was over. Falco walked over and patted the human on the shoulder, looking at the guard Derek shot. The one Derek had killed.

            "You're learning."

            The security system was being guarded by one guard, and that was it. It was almost too easy, because he was down at the other end of a very long hallway. Derek took aim, and swallowed.

            "And this should empty the clip..." he said, squeezing the trigger slowly until the rifle kicked his shoulder. The guard held his chest where the wound was, right in the heart, but died within seconds. Derek removed the clip, dropped it, and replaced it with the last five bullets for the rifle.

            "You know, this isn't the most covert method," Peppy reminded. "What if a camera saw that?"

            "Peppy, we're a little stressed for time as it is! Besides, we're right outside the security station," Fox complained. "C'mon guys, but stay sharp."

            Commotion was beginning to overcome the base as guards scattered everywhere. The bodies by the elevator had been found, they could all see, because the hallway had long windows facing out. The orange-red glow from the refracted light outside streaked in, the rays showing in the dust that blew around as the four walked past.

            Kicking down the door, Fox killed the last two guards with a few well-placed blaster shots. They were in, it was all downhill from here, at least for Derek.

            "Ok, Slip, you work on that security system. Derek, you're staying here," Fox ordered.

            Somewhat relieved, Derek nodded, exhaling. "Got it."

            Slippy happily whistled as he pulled out his laptop. Plopping down in the chair in front of the main terminal, he hunched over, pulling off the metal plate that hid all the connection ports. Hooking up a myriad of wires from his laptop to the board, he hummed one of his favorite tunes.

            "Shouldn't take too long," he placed the laptop next to the screen, opening and booting it up.

            The clacking of keys was almost too amazing. It was as if Slippy never stopped typing...even when he was stumped at certain sections of the system. Windows opened and closed rapidly on both screens, as he just searched and searched and searched.

            "Got it."

            One main window opened, with several commands. Some of them marked under "cameras." Slippy went through them like a checklist, turning off every one. Also, under "alarms," he disabled the laser trip-wires and manual alarms.

            "Alright...now on to the rest of it."

            Opening yet another window on top of that, Slippy started scanning through several floor plans, finally spotting the one with a red dot, marked "Grey."

            "That's gotta be him! Where's that?!" Fox pointed.

            "Fifth floor, west wing."

            "We're on it...Derek, stay here with Slippy. Slippy, heavy-lock this door _tight._ We'll let you know if we need in."

            "What if the headsets get jammed, or broken?"

            Derek shrugged. "Then I'll go, too."

            "Maybe...but only if you know we need it. Peppy, you got the maps?"

            "Got 'em!" The rabbit responded. "Good luck guys!"

            "Ah ha!" Slippy exclaimed, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, now we got a good idea of the guards posts and patrols...I got their signals to appear on the maps, and now you guys and the Elites are green. Get to the 5th floor."

            Falco chuckled. "Since when are _you the leader?"_

            Slippy gave a smirk. "Well, I _could_ pack up and leave, and be there to get all the cash myself."

            "Heh, good one. Alright guys, stay frosty."

            The door hissed shut, and Slippy went back to clacking keys. A large, heavy lock snapped from within the walls near the door, giving Derek a jolt.

            Now the facility was very quiet, and they could hear almost everything that was going on. With nothing else left to do, Slippy and Derek just sat and watched the monitors. When Falco and Fox reached the elevator, the sound of the cables' hum echoed all the way back to the small room.

            "Well, now I guess we wait. Fortunately all the Elites are on the fifth floor...wow. I didn't think they'd make it this easy," Slippy said, folding his arms and watching. Waiting.

            "Yeah. I think I should be out there for some reason, but he said to stay here. Guess I'm stuck."

            "Don't worry about it, and relax. Your part's over."

            Walking over to a small window, Derek peered out of it, looking through it to the wasteland that was everywhere on this part of Katina. A strange, sinking feeling overwhelmed him then, forcing him to think about all that had happened so far. He could only wonder about the future. No...something was giving him glimpses...some_one_ was giving him echoes of his future.

            He saw brief flashes of himself, stumbling down a hallway, battered, beaten, and bleeding.

            "Somehow...I don't think so. Something bad's going to happen."

            "You think Fox'll be okay?" Slippy asked.

            Derek shook his head. "He'll be fine."

            "So what's wrong?"

            "Something's going to happen to...me. Something terrible."

===================================================

"This is where it falls apart! This is where it falls apart!

I feel helpless as my everything comes crashing down on me!

This is where it falls apart! This is where it falls apart!

I feel helpless as my fucking world comes crashing down!

Crashing down on me!  
                                                --Stabbing Westward, "Falls Apart"

===================================================

            Fox and Falco had reached the fifth floor, Peppy's voice sounding over the headsets.

            "Ok guys, apparently the two groups of Elites are being held in two different sections of this floor. Bill Grey's with one of the groups, in the west wing. In the east wing is another group of Elites."

            "Got it. I'll go get Grey's group. You get the others, ok?" Fox said, looking at his best friend.

            Falco held both his blasters at head level, smirking. "Oh, yeah...this'll be fun."

            When the elevators opened, the chaos broke loose.

            Falco started off by firing his guns right away, taking out two guards before he ducked around a support beam. Fox only had one blaster, but managed to pick off three before diving behind his.

            "I told ya this would be fun!" Falco called, darting out and popping another two.

            "This ain't the time!" Fox shook his head, darting out, killing another two guards, and hiding behind the next pillar. Falco did the same soon after, only scoring once though. Finally, both had reached the end of their respective hallways, each one darting around the corner, firing madly.

            Falco had done okay...clearing the hallway was easier for him because he was more acrobatic than Fox, and much better at firing when on the move. Performing a series of dizzying side-flips and backflips, firing about six or seven times per flip. Twelve guards, all dead within the span of about one minute.

            Fox didn't do as well, because he went for the more guarded sector...seventeen guards on post. Sixteen in the squad, and the leader. Since he didn't have the quickness and agility of Falco, Fox had to resort to more...conventional methods. After taking out a few of the soldiers, he then ducked back around the corner, pulling the pin of a fragmentation grenade. He didn't even look around the corner when he threw it.

            "Whoops," Fox said. Seconds later, a loud explosion rocked the academy, with the screams of several dying soldiers echoing on and on.

            Whirling around the corner, Fox laughed as he shot the last remaining soldier down the hallway. The squad leader, who used his own subordinate as a shield from the blast.

            "Too bad he won't block laser fire...at least, not _this_ model," he said, stroking the barrel as he marched slowly toward the door. Sifting through the squad leader's pocket, Fox fished out his key card, and slid it in the lock. The door hissed open. Several young men and women gasped until they saw that it was Fox McCloud, instead of just one more guard.

            However, Fox didn't expect that they would be held here...in a classroom. About fifty odd students were crowded in the large room. Sitting on the desk in the front was a grey dog, well decorated, but still wearing Katinan Air Force clothes.

            Bill Grey.

            "Took you long enough," he said.

            They both walked toward each other, glaring into each others eyes in silence for a few seconds. Grey chuckled, which caused Fox to chuckle as well, and they hugged in a welcoming way.

            They released, Fox still chuckling. "Sorry it took so long," he pointed out the door. "I got a little busy. So...you got assigned here _again?_ You got some luck."

            "Assigned?" Grey started to laugh again. "Fox, of _course_ I got assigned here...I'm the headmaster!"

            "Headmaster?! You?!! Good lord...you _hated school!"_

            "I know...and I hate this one too, heh. But, ever since the first Lylat War with Andross...I've been seen with more respect...and made the jump from captain to major rather quickly...that was...oh, six years ago."

            "So only two years after the war. Wow. Way to go."

            "Yeah. Alright, listen up, troops! I want you guys out there an picking up guns, those who get rifles, hand off the sidearms to your comrades. I want _everybody_ armed!"

            "Ok, we're getting to the hangar...it might be relatively clear for now. Let's get to the main elevators," Fox suggested.

            With the fifth floor completely cleared, the Elites from both wings made it into the elevators, and began descending down to the first floor, where they would exit the facility and head for the hangars outside.

            "Alright, everyone! GO GO GO!" Grey commanded, pointing each individual to their respective crafts.

            The recruits scattered everywhere, reaching their ships and taking off. They had to stumble over several, _several dead soldiers, and some of their friends as well. The hangars were quite stained crimson that day, Fox, Grey, and Falco had made it out okay because they were seasoned veterans, but these guys were still kids, still students at the academy. True, they were taking __extra educational time to hone their skills more, but they were still students nonetheless._

            "Fox, thanks for the save," Grey said, turning around.

            "Anything for a pal."

            "Yeah, and the money," Falco chuckled.

            "So that's it, eh? I see," Grey smirked.

            "Well, we would've come anyways if it was you in trouble...besides, Katina needs help, and these Elites will probably do the trick." Fox explained, blushing slightly.

            "Heh, don't worry about it, I was just kidding buddy. Hey, you said something about Derek back there...what's going on with him? I remember you telling me about him in school and all, but I never met the kid."

            "Yeah, well...a lot's happened since then. You know the Children of Lylat?"

            "Yeah," Grey nodded.

            "Derek was with them, but he joined them for the religious beliefs they had. They never let him in on it the whole time, until it was too late."

            "Poor kid...how old is he now? Sixteen?'

            "Eighteen."

            "Wow, they grow up fast."

            "There's something else I probably should tell you."

            "Oh?"

            "Derek's here."

            "_What?! Derek's here?!"_

            "Yeah, we brought him along with us. You see--" The conversation was stopped suddenly when a bullet zinged off the pavement in front of them. "What the hell?!"

            "Duck!!" Falco shouted, all of them hiding behind a nearby wall.

            "Dammit..."

            "Slippy! Someone's shooting at Fox!" Derek gasped, looking out of the window that overlooked the hangars.

            "I know! But he's not on our screen! I'll try to find out where he's hiding!" Slippy almost literally pounded at the keyboard, trying to boot up different radar signals.

            "Guys...what the hell's going on?!" Fox's voice rang over the headsets.

            "There's a sniper somewhere! Looks like he's firing from within the building...Aah...." Derek said, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

            "Derek? Hey! Derek! What's going on?!! DEREK!"

            No one could really describe what Derek was experiencing right now, but for some reason the world was now much more clear, the clarity almost blindingly powerful. Slippy's typing slowed to a crawl, Fox's voice was so deep it was almost indistinguishable. And from somewhere below, Derek could hear a gun's chamber reloading itself. The sniper. This had only happened once before, and Derek knew what it meant.

            His killswitch had been turned on.

            "Derek...what's...wrong...with...you...?" Even Slippy's voice was deep.

            Derek didn't respond, but instead he opened the window and aimed the sniper rifle out of it. It seemed like such a futile effort to Slippy, but with Fox, Falco, and Grey pinned down out there, what else could Derek do? He tried to let his hearing tell him what was going on, and when the time was right, when Fox poked his head around the corner, Derek fired.

            Outside, Fox heard what sounded like two guns firing at the same time, and the sudden ricochet sound of metal bullets on metal surfaces, the shrill "zing" ringing in his ears. He could see Derek's rifle pointed out from the second story, but not the other gun. It was then that Fox realized that Derek had done the impossible.

            Derek had shot the sniper's bullet.

            "How...the...hell...did you...do...that...?" Fox's voice slowly asked. Once agian, Derek didn't respond, but instead readied the rifle for the next shot.

            "Four," he whispered.

            Two more shots were met with bullets from Derek's own gun, the casings sounding as if they were slamming into the ground, instead of the normal jingle. "GOT HIM! Slippy shouted, pointing on the screen. Derek looked back to the screen briefly. The sniper was on the first floor.

            And he was moving.

            "He's...going...for...a..better.shot!" Slippy's voice had returned to normal, and Derek realized his killswitch was off, but it didn't matter.

            "I gotta go help! Open the door!"

            "No way! Fox told us to stay here!"

            It was one of those moments that most soldiers have in their first battle. That fight with their own sense of morality. Derek didn't want to kill again. He had already killed enough...the two guards in this facility, not to mention all those on Corneria...he had killed enough. But then he had those rapid-fire thoughts racing through his brain. He imagined watching out the window as Fox, his best friend, his big brother, snapping his head backward as crimson sprayed out the back of his head, then collapsing down to the pavement below. He thought of all the sadness everyone would feel, he thought of the eventual funeral. He finally figured it out.

            It was time for him to be a valuable part of the team.

            He had to help his friend.

            He had to help his "big brother."

            He had to kill to prevent more killing.

            It was no longer fair for him to be the only innocent one.

            "Slippy..." he said, angrily, "open this fucking door."

            "W-What did you s-say?"

            Derek growled, and pulled out his blaster, aiming it at Slippy's face.

            "I said open the door! Do it or I swear to everything holy I'll do it my fucking self!!!"

            Slippy's teeth chattered as he clacked a few more keys, followed by the loud _clunk of the locks disengaging. The doors opened, and Derek lowered his gun._

            "I...I'm sorry, Slippy."

            Slippy shook his head. "No...I deserved it. Go get that bastard!"

            Derek gave a determined look. "His ass is mine."

            The door slammed shut behind him as Derek walked out. Curious, Slippy remembered he had control over the cameras, so he activated the one where the sniper was...he was wondering who was firing on Fox. It was perhaps the one thing that scared Slippy to death.

            "Oh my God...not him..."

            The figure was crouching now, waiting for his shot, rifle held up to one eye. The only good eye he had.

            Wolf O'Donnell.

            "Fox! It's Wolf! He's the one firing at you!" Slippy screamed over the com.

            "Wolf!" Fox said, peeking around really quickly. "Dammit...not him. Not now."

            "Yeah, but...Derek's going to stop him!"

            "Derek! Oh, no! I told him to stay there!"

            "He was so determined! I didn't want to stop him! I'm sorry, Fox."

            "It's okay. Derek! You there?!"

            "I'm here..." Derek whispered. "Wolf's on the first floor, and he keeps moving around for better shots..alright. Here I go."

            "No! Derek! Don't!"

            Peering around the corner, Derek could clearly see Wolf, crouching and aiming at Fox outside the window. He was by the window closest to the corner of the hall, which gave Derek somewhat of an advantage.

            Even moreso, since his killswitch had flipped on again.

            He quietly snuck around the corner, careful not to arouse attention. Holding his blaster out with both hands, he suddenly thought a very wise thought.

            _Wait...do I really have to kill him? Maybe I can just stop him and we can get out of here..._

            Throwing his gun behind him, throwing caution to the wind, Derek broke into a run. With his killswitch on, it still seemed like the world had all but stopped turning, but his own speed was normal. Wolf heard the gun clatter to the ground to his left side. Not being his dominant eye, he was slower to react. Standing to face his assailant, Wolf tried to aim the rifle, but it was too late. Derek spun around and kicked him in the stomach. Hard. So hard he slammed into the wall behind him. Not leaving him any chances, Derek spun again and slammed his right foot into the left side of Wolf's face. The burning pain of his bad eye filling with tears was enough to take the big guy down, not completely unconscious, but very, very stunned.

            He almost didn't have enough time to dodge the bullet.

            Looking down the hallway, Derek could barely make out the figure of yet another wolf, pointing a sliver gun his direction. A revolver with bullets, quite the rare find. The sun shining through the windows only complimented the wolf's trenchcoat, making it appear to have a much brighter shade of red.

            "So _you're the newest Star Fox flunkie," Bane shouted._

            Derek darted down the hall. Not away from Bane, but _toward_ him, pulling out another blaster. Bane fired like mad, and so did Derek, using his killswitch's ability to shoot down the bullets before they could reach him. Finally the two had met in the hallway, fighting hand-to-hand after they had managed to disarm each other. After kicking Bane in the chest, Derek flipped backward and stood in a ready stance.

            But Bane had decided it was enough. He drew his blade.

            "Andross never said alive. Wait...maybe he did. Oh well, doesn't matter," he lunged, Derek darting to the side, pushing the flat of the blade down. Flowing with the momentum, Bane just let the sword come full circle, sweeping in an overhead arc. Derek dodged again, making Bane more and more enraged...and impressed.

            "Nice, kid. Real nice."

            Bane became serious at this point, slashing and slashing over and over again, Derek dodging every move, but by mere inches, sometimes by centimeters, and at times, millimeters. Tilting his head and torso different directions, sending his feet every which-way, Derek had managed to dodge the flurry of slashes and swipes Bane was making.

            Unfortunately, he didn't see the haymaker coming.

            Slamming his fist into Derek's stomach, Bane felt some satisfaction that he had finally managed to hit this amazing kid. Derek hunched over in pain, killswitch violently thrown off. Holding his stomach, he realized that this was it. He'd lost. He started to get up, but Bane was already bringing his katana down.

            The sting didn't hit Derek at first, but the force of the blade forced him to turn to the side, clutching the front of his face. It was a mere surface wound, from above Derek's left eye to below his right, barely across the bridge of his nose. The warm blood sprayed everywhere on the ground and nearby wall, and Derek pulled his hand away to confirm that he was, in fact, bleeding.

            Taking advantage of the situation, Bane raised his blade one last time, and sent the hilt slamming into the back of Derek's head. Derek's face slamming into the metal academy hallway floor, blood oozing from his new wound, spreading on the ground. Bane picked up the kid and held him under one arm, then proceeded to kick Wolf to get him to wake up.

            "Get up. I got the kid."

            Moaning in pain, Wolf held the left side of his head. "Good...guess we're out of here."

            "Derek! Derek?! DEREK! _DEREK!** DEREK!!!!!****" **Fox screamed over and over again into the headset, as the three ran toward the flagship of Star Wolf. Viewing two figures, Fox instantly knew what was going on. The red-clad one held an older teenager under one arm. A human. Derek. Wolf saw Fox running toward the ship, stopped, and began laughing._

            "Derek!!!" Fox called.

            Hearing his friend's voice, Derek's eyes snapped awake. Since he was facing backward, he could clearly see Fox and Falco...and Wolf...at least, he could see out of his right eye...his left was filling with crimson.

            "Looks like you got careless, Fox!" Wolf jeered. "We win this time!" He ran inside.

            "FOX!!!" Derek screamed desperately, holding his right arm out.

            "DEREK!!!!" But the door had slammed shut. The three scrambled out of the way to avoid being cooked by the engines. "Derek!!! God dammit...DEREK!!!!"

            Falco had to restrain his friend, otherwise Fox might've even tried flying without a ship

            "Derek...god...god dammit..." Fox said, remembering Derek's face, dripping with blood.

            It would not be the last time he watched Derek bleed.

The End.

=================================================

"The stronger the light, the greater your shadow becomes.

But never fear...and never forget...

...You hold the mightiest weapon of all."

                                                --Squaresoft, "Kingdom Hearts"

=================================================


	4. True Brotherhood

Part 4 of "Humanity's Lost Claim"

"True Brotherhood"

by Bane Keldare

All characters are (c) Nintendo.

All Lyrics are (c) their respective owners.

Bane Keldare and Derek Shyfter are (c) to me.

Notes: _Oh my God...I never thought in my entire life that I'd be this devoted to writing my stories, but I guess I have to think that now, huh? But that's not the worst of it...I have these ideas in my head for this story, so it is, in turn, writing itself._

_One night I almost cried for Derek Shyfter._

_Scary huh? I never thought I'd be caught up in my own characters...I never thought I'd be able to portray such emotions before. The whole "Affirmation through loss" idea was something I always respected in stories, but Goddamn...I never thought or imagined this. It's quite scary, actually._

_Be forewarned, this is about as gruesome as it gets. In turn, it's also about as emotional as it'll ever be...unless I surprise myself in the next one._

_EDIT: Ok, after finishing the story, I guess the above warning isn't as appropriate as it could be...I found a new method of showing the horrors of torture without using the gory details. Hope the effectiveness showed itself._

_                                                                                    --Bane Keldare_

===============================================

"These wounds won't seem to heal...This pain is just too real...

There's just too much that time can not erase...

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears...

When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears...

And I held your hand through all of these years...

But you still had...all of me...

                                    --Evanescence, "My Immortal"

===============================================

**Great Fox,**

**Five hours following the Katina rescue**

**---------------------------------------------------**

            Katina had been a disaster.

            The mission started well enough, until that goddamn sniper messed it up. If Wolf hadn't shown up...if he hadn't...Derek would've...

            Derek would still be on the Great Fox now, if it weren't for Wolf.

            All the thoughts raced through Fox's mind, his face buried in his pillow, trying to sort everything out all at once, like Derek did. But it had all happened so fast...like some kind of crazy, crimson-faced, screaming blur. No...that blur was Derek. His face...what the _fuck happened to his face? Why was he bleeding so badly?_

            It was that other guy...the one carrying him...he had a sword. That's what happened.

            The pillow was starting to smell stale with Fox's own breath, the warmth radiating off of it as Fox sighed, followed by more disturbing thoughts.

            What would have happened if Fox told him to stay with General Pepper? Would Derek agree? Would he have refused? No...Fox had another reason to take Derek along...it was that girl that controlled him. Caina. He didn't want Derek to unleash her again, he didn't want Derek falling to her again, so he took Derek along, to give him that strength that came only from friendship.

            Why did he even involve Derek in the mission? Maybe because he was scared to leave Derek on the Great Fox...it was always one of those risks...if the ship was destroyed, everyone inside was as well. Maybe he thought that by taking Derek along, he'd be able to protect him.

            He was so fucking wrong.

            Now, Katina was all but free of Andross' forces...for now. The mission was completely successful. Pepper had transferred the money accordingly, but it was so hard to tell him the truth. Fox almost choked back the words, but instead hung his head low when he admitted it.

            "We lost Derek," he had said. "He was captured...his face was bleeding so badly..."

            That blood haunted his mind...it looked just like his...it should've been him. Why wasn't Fox taken instead of Derek? Fox gladly would've taken a bullet for him...even if it was almost lethal. The sound of it spattering on the ground drop by drop...that splash it made on the pavement...Fox had stared at it for a moment, tears matting down the fur below his eyes.

            "Fox...I understand. Look, since he's part of the CDA, we can do everything to find him," Pepper had told him. "But we don't have any leads...Star Wolf's ship is an unregistered ship, so it's not like we can just track it. We'll give you every detail as soon as we get it. But since we don't have any real jobs for you, just relax for awhile."

            It was almost two hours ago when Pepper told him that. Relax? How the hell could he relax? Five hours ago, Derek was safe in the security room of the Academy of the Elite...he even managed to take down Wolf by himself. It must've been that crazy skill he showed the team when they were infiltrating the Children of Lylat. That uncanny ability to dodge every attack thrown.

            Then he remembered the bullets...the ones Derek had fired to deflect Wolf's.

            _I don't belong with Star Fox..._ Derek's words rang in his head. God dammit! Why did he have to say that? Why didn't he feel like he belonged with his "big brother?" What posessed him to say such a thing? That was the start of Fox's realization of the truth with his relationship with Derek Shyfter.

            He enjoyed being a guardian.

            Fox was only 26, but he was so much older than Derek...eight, no...seven years to be precise. He remembered all the times he'd fight off bullies just for Derek, how he got made fun of for protecting such a crybaby, and Derek was quite the crier. Most of the time, though, bullies picked on him for the satisfaction of making him cry. That was the way Fox had met Derek in the first place, back when Derek was four and Fox was twelve.

            Some bullies had chased little Derek into the alley, calling him names like "freak" and "monster." Being only four, Derek began to cry at the notion. The bullies were around eight or nine, so when Fox managed to walk by, he knew he had to do something, and that he could.

            "Hey! Leave him alone" he called.

            The three kids turned around and attacked, but Fox, being in a martial arts class at the time, was ready for them. Throwing the first one over his shoulder, he then darted to the side and took the next one down with a roundhouse punch. The last one was taken down with the traditional uppercut. Running in fear, the bullies left Fox and a sniffling Derek alone in the alley.

            "You okay, kid?"

            Derek sniffled. "Y-y-yeah...I'll...I'll b-be...f-f-f-fine..." he said, rubbing his eyes.

            Fox then noticed that the kid was bleeding from the nose a little bit. "Hey, let me take you back to my place so we can take care of that."

            Crybaby Derek kept on blubbering as Fox touched the wound.

            "Oh! Sorry, kid...hey, let's take your mind off that...what's your name?"

            "Derek...Derek Shyfter..."

            "Okay, Derek. I'm Fox McCloud. How old are you?"

            "...Four...almost five."

            "Oh? When do you turn five?"

            "The day after tomorrow."

            "You gonna have a party?'

            "Yeah...you wanna come?"

            Fox chuckled and nodded. "Sure, I'd love to go."

            So Derek followed him. That was also the same day Derek met James McCloud. Fox's dad was so proud of his son that day, for bringing home some complete stranger because he was in trouble. So the man took little Derek in the back and started using some gauze to help stop the bleeding, pinching the kid's nose slightly to apply pressure. Fox watched the whole time, watching the tears still strolling down the kid's face.

            After about an hour of playing with the kid, James and Fox decided to take him home. Derek led the way downtown, until he reached his house.

            "Wait...you live _here?" James had asked._

            "Yeah...with Uncle Pepper."

            Knocking on the door, James cleared his throat as General Pepper opened the door.

            "Derek!" He exclaimed, hugging the child tightly. "What happened? I was so late in picking you up...I'm so sorry...Oh! James McCloud and Fox! What's going on?"

            "Fox here found your son...err...nephew...in an alley, being attacked by some bullies, so he stopped them and brought little Derek home to me. I stopped his nose from bleeding but it might flow again, so you'd better watch it."

            "Thank you Fox!" Pepper rubbed Fox's head, scruffling his hair. "And thank you James."

            "I never knew you had a kid...especially one so...different. Why didn't you tell me?"

            "You never asked," Pepper chuckled kindly.

            "Very funny."

            "No, you see...it's one of those little secrets I try to keep...see...he's so different that he gets picked on enough at school...if they knew that I was his guardian, they'd have a field day, so I tried to keep it secret as best I could, for his sake."

            "I see."

            "I've got to make this up to you somehow," he said, squinting into the setting sun. "Would you and Fox like to come in for dinner? I'm sure there's going to be enough spaghetti to go around."

            "Spaghetti! All right!" Fox and Derek exclaimed at the same time.

            James chuckled. "Ok, that'd be great, thanks."

            And that was how Fox had met Derek.

            Fox snapped awake, realizing that he hadn't just remembered that day, but he had _dreamed_ it. Lifting his heavy head off of the pillow, slightly groggy, he also realized that the pillow was completely wet and damp, and his fur was matted down with moisture.

            He was crying the entire time.

            The idea wasn't a shock to him. Normally he'd be embarrassed about the whole thing, but why? It was so natural for someone in his position. Slowly he got up off the bed and began walking to the rec room, craving something sweet.

            Falco passed by him in the hall. "How you holding up..." he examined Fox's face. "Have you been...crying?!"

            "Shut up, Falco."

            Falco wrapped his arm around Fox and squeezed slightly. "Hey, I don't mean anything by it. Look, Derek's a good, strong, brave kid. He'll be okay."

            "Okay as in perfectly fine? Or as in just alive?"

            "Perfectly fine."

            "I see you've forgotten about Leon's reputation for his sadism."

            "What? Oh...that."

            It was no big surprise what Leon was into. That snotty voice, the need to test certain recruits by beating the shit out of them...and of course, the horrible things he was known for doing in the Lylat Wars, but since Star Wolf was a mercenary unit, laws didn't totally apply to them.

            Leon was into torture.

            Some of the things Fox had heard about were almost to horrific to imagine. His friend Bill Grey had told him about a couple of soldiers that got caught and tortured by Leon in what he called "sessions." But Leon wasn't just satisfied with tormenting them. No. He tormented their families as well. He broadcasted their tortures live to their families on closed circuit channels that couldn't be traced back. He was a sick man. It was open to speculation which was worse...the actual torture or watching your family screaming for them to stop.

            The thought made more tears roll down his cheek. "Derek...oh God, Derek!" He covered his face in his hands again, sobs coming out in whispers, feeling like a complete fool in front of his friend. But he knew then that Falco understood what he was going through.

            Falco turned Fox and hugged him tightly, Fox burying his face in the avian's shoulder. The leather of his jacket felt somewhat comforting to his fur, his sobs getting stronger and stronger. The leader of Star Fox, reduced to a snivelling little moron, his head cradled in the arms of his best friend. That was why Fox had always liked Falco...he was cool enough to act like he didn't care, but in the end, he cared even more than some of the most caring people.

            "He'll be okay...he's strong..." Falco reassured, leading Fox down the hallway. "He's all grown up now, you know that. He'll get through this, and hey...he might not even get tortured...C'mon Fox! Lighten up...just a little?"

            Taking shallow breaths, Fox slowly lifted his head off of Falco's shoulder, wiping his nose and giving one last, strong, sniffle. Rubbing his eyes, his vision began to clear up, and he started walking to the rec room of his own volition.

            "You're right...you're right. I shouldn't be doing this...it's...yeah. He'll be okay...right? I mean, you think he'll really be okay?"

            Falco shrugged. "Well, all I can say is that it seemed pretty intentional that they grabbed him like that. You saw that wound."

            Yes he did...so much blood...dripping on the concrete...Derek's blood. Human blood.

            "Well, that means that the guy didn't want to kill him, right? I mean, he was carrying a sword, or didn't you see that?"

            "Yeah...I saw that."

            "Well...that thing was sharp enough to cut Derek like that, but it could've gone all the way through to his brain, but it didn't. He held back. That means they wanted him alive."

            "But what use do they have for him?" Fox asked.

            "Hard to say. But if they want him alive, they also probably want him healthy. Look, let's just get back to the business of trying to _find_ him, instead of speculating."

            Fox's fur had finally dried up enough for him to feel comfortable again, and he gave a confident smirk.

            "Yeah...we gotta go find him."

            When his confidence had stabilized, he heard Derek's voice in his head once more.

            _FOX!!!!!!!_

            "Don't worry, Derek. Big Brother's coming."

**Venomian Base, Fortuna**

**Five hours after the Katina Rescue**

**-----------------------------------------------**

            Derek's head fucking hurt.

            When he opened his eyes, it was the first thing he felt...that throbbing, pulsating pain over his sinuses. Reaching up with his left hand, he felt some cloth-paper fabrication over his head. A bandage.

            Wow, so they _did care about him._

            The light from outside was a cold, foggy grey, but it was enough to get light into the room. Slowly lifting his burdensome body, he moaned as he got up on his hands and knees, reverting to a sitting position on the end of the cot. Looking around, Derek could tell he was in a small, private cell...one of those meant for important prisoners.

            Looking down at his sleeveless trenchcoat, he could see the rusty brown color streaking down the outside, where Derek's wound had left its crimson mark. His face still felt like it had old blood on it, but since there were no mirrors, he had no idea how bad he looked.

            He _felt like shit, though._

            Standing very slowly, Derek stretched his sore muscles. His neck, hands, knees, and feet started popping like mad...he was out for awhile. Then he looked at his watch.

            "1704...it's been _five hours? How long was I out?"_

            Derek chuckled at his own idiocy. "Duh...probably five hours."

            _DEREK!!!!_ Fox's scream echoed in his head.

            "Fox? Fox?!! FOX!! Where'd you go?!! No..."

            Derek clutched his bandages again, shaking his head. It wasn't real. All he had to do was tell himself that Fox wasn't there. Fox wasn't there because he didn't know where Derek was...even Derek didn't know where he was. Fox wasn't there.

            But he _wanted Fox there, no doubt about that._

            Clutching his amulet...he realized nobody was there to save him. "God...God dammit...what the hell...why...why?!"

            Nobody answered.

            "Of course...no answers to my questions...as always."

            Finally mustering up the courage, Derek peeked out the small window he was given. White, powdery snow covered from the ground and blizzarded around without mercy, slamming into the window and sliding down. Derek knew where he was now.

            The Ice Planet...Fortuna.

            "Wow...all the way out here? Damn..."

            Fortuna wasn't really all that far from Katina, but it's orbital path and slow rotation kept it always so cold. The path was rather close to Katina most of the time, but it was just far enough away that the rays from Solar didn't hit it properly. It was scientific speculation that the atmosphere was more dense than most, blocking out the light rays, but it was also thin enough to let the planet's own heat seep out into space. Quite the odd phenomenon.

            Taking off his amulet, Derek started to twiddle it in and out of his fingers, examining it.

            "Where _did this thing come from, anyway? I've had it since I was five..."_

            Since he was five...since he met Fox.

            "I remember that...I found this hanging on a tree outside my room...wait a minute...there was a note, too...why don't I remember what it said?"

            It was probably because he was four at the time.

            "But I did get to read it...I knew how to anyway..."

            The words slowly seeped back into his head.

_            Derek,_

_            I'm glad I met you, and now Fox has a friend of his own to play with and protect. These wings belonged to his mother. He has the original, but I thought you would like it if I had them remade for you. You and Fox take care of each other, okay? I'm not always gonna be there. Happy birthday._

_                                                                                                --Captain James McCloud_

            "Not always gonna be there...Happy birthday," Derek repeated out loud. "Yeah, he was right...too right. I got this two days after I met them...heh. Fitting to have the wings of an angel from a friend who's always there."

            But he wasn't there this time.

            Derek turned the wings over and read the inscription. Fox's mother's name was obviously not put in there, but that way it meant so much more.

            _I'm not always there in spirit, but I'm always there in love._

_            Forever the wings to shield you from harm,_

_            Forever the wings to embrace you in the light,_

_            Forever the wings to help you soar._

_                                                                        --     McCloud._

            "His entire family's looked out for me at some point...I really wish I could've met his mother."

            And so, Derek sat, lonely in his cell, awaiting his fate.

**Venomian Base, Fortuna, Officer's Quarters**

**1704 Hours, Five hours after the Katina Rescue**

**---------------------------------------------------------------**

            Bane stood facing the window, watching the snow fall, bouncing the safe edge of his katana off his shoulder slightly. The sharp wind from the outside weather conditions whistled slightly through the seams of the window, even though they were weather-proofed.

            "So what are we gonna do now?" He asked Wolf and Leon, not even turning around.

            Wolf, who was now sitting in a reclining chair, watching TV, shrugged. "Who knows? We're ordered to stay here and watch the kid. Ooooh...hard work. Hey, at least we're getting paid to sit on our asses for once. Just sit back and enjoy it."

            Leon was giving sultry looks over from the corner. "Oh fun..."

            Wolf shook his head. "You're just mad because they want this kid alive and well."

            "Yeah but...you'd be surprised at what you can live through."

            Wolf darted up and grabbed Leon by the collar. "Look, I've had just about enough of you and this sadism torturing _bullshit!_ What the fuck is wrong with you, you sick fuck?! God fucking _dammit!_"

            Leon's voice started cracking. "O-o-okay, Wolf...I won't...shit..." Wolf gruffly planted the chameleon back on the ground.

            "Well, fucking dammit, Leon! There's reasons why we don't get contracts from Corneria anymore, and it's because _you_ had to do what you did back in the Lylat War! Don't tell me you forgot that!"

            "No...but..."

            "But nothing, you enjoyed every second of it! I remember those days too."

            Bane started laughing. "Wow, never thought I'd see our fearless leader so pissed off."       Calming down, Wolf exhaled strongly. "Yeah, well _this_ bastard is the reason we don't get paid what Star Fox does...and _he's the reason we're always seen as villains!" He said, pointing at Leon._

            Leon shrugged. "So why don't you just can me?"

            Wolf growled, clenching his right fist in an effort to control himself.

            "Because...you're...one of the best...pilots out there..." he said through his teeth.

            "And you'd best not forget _that." Leon said, slowly walking out of the room back to his quarters._

            Bane finally turned around. "So what did he _do,_ anyway?"

            "Back in the Lylat War, he captured some Katinan soldiers and tortured them..._badly. He even got their families to watch on a closed-circuit broadcast...it was so sick."_

            "Why didn't you stop him?"

            "I was assigned somewhere else when he did it."

            "So what happened to the soldiers?"

            "Well, there were three of them. One of them eventually died from the pain, he actually managed to begin an escape attempt, but then he turned the gun and..." Wolf said, at the end making a *click* with his tongue, pointing a finger-gun at his muzzle.

            "The other two?"

            "One of them finally made it out okay, but he resigned from active duty after that...the third one..."

            "What about the third one?"

            "The third one...is still in Katina City Asylum."

            "_WHAT?!"_

            "Yeah...he never got over the tortures...in fact, he's still tortured by the nightmares."

            "Oh my god..."

            "What's wrong? I thought you were some kind of perfect killing machine?"

            "I kill, yes. But I have my moral standards...I like it to be quick. There's no point in killing people slowly," Bane swung his katana downward, twirled it, and brought it back up to his shoulder.

            "I see...it's good to have standards in this day and age."

            "I got a hypothetical question for you."

            "Alright, shoot."

            "What if Andross was paying us _millions to torture Derek? What then?"_

            "Then I wouldn't take the job. I got standards too."

            "Good to know," Bane's ears twitched. "I think you got a message."

            Wolf's ears twitched too, picking up a slight beeping sound. "So I did," he said, walking into the next room, opening his laptop computer. A small envelope was flashing in the corner, indicating a new email message, sent from "Anonymous."

_            Just thought you'd like to know, there's someone on Zoness who claims to be your brother, Lune. It may or may not be true, and it sounds like a trap. You'd best take your friends along just to be on the safe side._

_                                                            --Anonymous_

Wolf could hardly believe it. "Lune? No..he was killed...?"

            Bane stood in the doorway. "What's it say? Another job?"

            "In a sense...apparently someone's pretending to be my brother."

            Bane rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh," he said with sarcasm.

            "Look...if it _is him, then I gotta go look."_

            It was that one moment Bane had feared for a long time. Being in the same base as Wolf, and finding out that someone else was pretending to be him. He never knew what he would do if it ever arose...would he confess? Would he keep hiding?

            Bane shrugged his shoulders. "So go look...but what about the kid?"

            "I'll leave someone here. Probably Leon...he doesn't want to go on a wild chase after my brother anyway...he never really cared. The others'll probably want to go with...they both hate this planet."

            "You're going to leave Leon _here? With the kid?"_

            Wolf chuckled and gave a grin. "Well...you _would've_ tagged along, too, but your ship was mysteriously damaged and you couldn't get to the Great Wolf in time."

            Bane smiled. "I see."

            Wolf started walking to the door. "Well, I'm gonna go round up the guys. And Bane--"

            He put his hand firmly on Bane's shoulder.

            "If Leon does _anything to that kid, you have my permission to intervene."_

            "But what about rank? He does outrank me."

            Wolf started walking out of the room, shrugging his shoulders.

            "He doesn't have to know you're intervening."

===========================================

"Now I will tell you what I've done for you...

Fifty-thousand tears I've cried...

Screaming, decieving, and bleeding for you...

And you still won't hear me..."

                                    --Evanescence, "Going Under"

===========================================

**Venomian Base, Fortuna**

**1059 Hours**

**---------------------------------**

            Derek heard from the guards that Wolf, Pigma, and Andrew had already left, leaving him with Leon, and Bane...the one that slashed him yesterday. Rubbing the bandage, Derek could still feel the throbbing, but the pain had finally gone away.

            "Probably gonna leave a scar," he told himself.

            Picking at the sides, he finally found where the bandage stopped. Using his small fingernails, he slowly peeled the cloth-paper off from his head. His forehead felt somewhat odd being in open air again, it was cold, that's for sure. He felt the ridges in the skin where the scar was...above his left eye, across the bridge of his nose, below the right eye.

            Suddenly, a loud banging came from the other side of the cell door.

            "Look alive! Star Wolf coming through!" the voice called, the door hissing open.

            Standing in the doorway, Leon looked at Derek, who was still holding the bandage in his hand. Leon's reptilian face matched his cold eyes, which stared ahead with a strange non-emotion to them.

            "Good...you appear to be ready," He said, nodding.

            "Ready? Ready for what?"

            "Your first "session."

            "What? What the hell's a "session?"

            "Oh, you'll find out soon enough. Come along," Leon said, pointing a blaster to Derek's face.

            Not willing to take the pain of resisting, Derek walked along in front of Leon, all the way to Room 105A. The door opened, and inside was a large metal table, with shackles and everything. It all seemed state of the art, and it was quite an interesting room. Still a little naive, Derek wondered what purpose such a room served.

            "Get on the table," Leon commanded.

            Derek slowly seated himself on the cold table, kicking his feet back and forth, feeling the cold go through his pants when they met the edge of the table.

            "No no..._lay down...idiot."_

            He slowly lay down and held his hands across his stomach. Leon put the gun down and took both of his arms and placed them into the shackles, locking them firmly in place. He then grabbed Derek's slightly heavier legs and placed them into shackles as well.

            "Alright...what the hell...?" Derek asked.

            "Oh, be quiet. You'll want to save your voice," Leon grinned, pressing a button.

            The table rotated forward until Derek was leaning at about a 75 degree angle. Grabbing a small bracer device, Leon strapped it to Derek's right wrist, pressing a few buttons on it.

            "What's that?"

            Leon chuckled evilly. "That, my boy, is a communicator, set to an untracable frequency."

**Great Fox, Bridge**

**1100 Hours**

**-----------------------------**

            *Beep*

            Fox was half asleep, and ignored the annoying sound resonating throughout the metal chamber.

            *Beep...beep*

            His ears twitched...no one brought it to his attention because no one was there.

            *Beep...beep...beep*

            _Derek..._ he thought. _I'll find you, I promise._

            *Beep...beep...beep...beep*

            His eyes flickering, he finally opened them, to see a small red light blinking on and off in front of him. Peppy walked into the bridge, stroking his right ear.

            "Confound it, Fox, will you _answer that already?!" He said, his super-sensitive ears aching from the annoying sound._

            Pressing a small button next to the light, he looked forward to the hologram that appeared, and it was something he didn't exactly expect to see. The hologram was mostly blue, the colors of the source showing through slightly. Someone strapped to a table, pointing toward him.

            Derek.

            "F-Fox...?" Derek looked puzzled, glaring at Leon off-screen. "What's going on?"

            "Derek! Were the hell are you?!"

            Leon chuckled. "If he tells, he dies, McCloud."

            "Leon! Oh God..." Fox's eyes widened.

            "Let the boy go, you sick bastard!" Peppy said, unbecoming of his normal vocaulary.

            "That wouldn't be any fun, now would it?" Leon said, stepping between Derek and Fox, holding up a small black bag full of tools.

            His tools.

            Stepping out of the way, Leon waved his arm in front of Derek.

            "I guess you have some conversations to start, before we begin," he said.

            Now appearing on the bridge, Slippy gave a high-pitched shriek. "Derek?!!"

            Derek, still confused, gave a puzzled, "Um...hi Slippy."

            "Derek, you don't know what's going on?!" Fox asked.

            "...No...why?"

            "Leon's gonna torture you, Derek! That sick bastard's gonna make us _watch!_"

            Leon stuck his head in and smiled. "Ah, so you're familiar with my work."

            Pulling out a small circular band, he stuck it on Derek's cranium, pushing a couple of buttons.

            "What's that?" Derek asked.

            "A Psi-blocker...we can't have you breaking out of here now...Andross had it made especially for you."

            "What?"

            "But I...I have a more practical use for it."

            "Leon! If you hurt him I swear to _God_ I'll destroy everything you cared about!!" Fox growled.

            "Touching words, but you're not here."

            Now it was Falco's turn to bear witness as he stepped onto the bridge. "What the hell...I was just getting some slee--holy _shit!_ Derek?!!"

            "H-hi, Falco..." the Human's voice began to tremble.

            Falco turned to Fox. "Does he know?!"  
            Fox's voice started to lose its temerity. "He just found out...God...dammit."

            The sound of Leon placing several metal instruments on the table could now be heard on the Great Fox, echoing all around. It was about to start. Fox, Peppy, Falco, Slippy...they _all knew what was about to happen, and Derek was being...strangely calm about it._

            "Hey...could you turn up the heat...kinda cold in here..." Derek said, trying to give a hint.

            "Too bad...I'm doing just fine, that's all that matters."

            The hint eluded Fox completely, however.

            "Oh, by the way, McCloud...if you _do_ somehow manage to find this place, if you try anything, he dies. Got it?"

            Fox hung his head low. "...Yeah...got it."

            Falco took a few steps forward. "Listen, kid. You know what's going to happen, don't you?"

            "Yeah...torture...dunno what kind..."

            "Yep. Ok, look into my eyes...'cause I've seen it all. I want you to focus on my eyes the entire time...try not to scream, don't turn your goddamn head, don't even try to _blink if you can avoid it. Now, what color are my eyes?"_

            Through the hologram, Derek could still see color somewhat clearly.

            "...Dark blue...right?"

            "Right. Now keep looking into that blueness."

            "How're you gonna be able to just keep staring?"

            "I've seen many horrible things in my life, kid. I'm staring at your eyes too."

            "You are?"

            "Yeah...your green eyes...just like Fox's. Fox, you look at his eyes, too."

            Fox stared intently into Derek's eyes...and for the next two hours, it was the hardest thing he'd ever have to do.

**Venomian Base, Fortuna, Room 105A**

**1302 Hours**

**---------------------------------------------------**

            Derek's screams haunted even his own mind.

            He tried to focus on Falco's eyes, but kept reverting to Fox's, which kept on welling up with tears...the greenness becoming distorted with the liquids now dribbling down the vulpine's muzzle.

            "Augh...! Oh!!!!!!! God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He kept on shouting, not even being subjected to anymore "treatments." His tears had almost literally _poured on the metal floor below, making a small puddle of blood, sweat, and tears...the mark of most seasoned soldiers._

            But Derek was still a rookie from the CDA...still too fragile.

            His loud moans, groans, and screams reverberated in the hall, and the memories flashed in his mind back when it was all going on. The tools were simple enough...a small heater, water, several serrated instruments, and of course, Leon's own fists and feet. Derek's face was obviously swollen by the twenty or so blows he had taken, his nose and mouth bleeding slightly. He could feel a slight cut in his gums where his teeth had scraped the wrong way. He was lucky he still had his teeth.

            And, of course, he then remembered the scalding hot iron, Leon's favorite for almost an hour.

            There were large burn holes in his black jeans, now...obviously from the poker Leon used to torment the human even further...the pain was unforgettable, and neither was the other strange feeling. That burning sensation, and a strange...stickiness that resulted from pulling hot metal off of exposed skin...that disturbing, peeling sound. Derek was proving a most interesting subject, being with no fur, feathers, or scales to protect him from Leon's sadism.

            "God...god damn....!" Derek and Fox both said simultaneously.

            "Well, Derek...as much as I'd _love to stick around, I think you're done for the day...I'm going to go wash up...the aide's will see you to the infirmary."_

            "The...infirmary...AUGH!!!" Derek asked, still feeling the burning in his legs.

            "Hey, I can't have my subject die on me...we _are_ getting paid to take care of you."

            Leon's footsteps echoed out into the hallway, dissipating slowly, and now more footsteps followed. It was only one set, but it was quite heavy. The clatter of something metal came through as well. In stepped someone Derek didn't really care to meet again.

            "How you doin' kid?" Bane asked.

            "Don't talk...Aaaaaugh!!! ...Fuck off..."

            Bane hushed Derek. "Shhh...is that any way to talk to someone who's about to do you a favor?"

            Setting his sword standing in the corner, Bane set his attention on the small bracer-transmitter that was on Derek's right arm...the only place safe from Leon's sick mind. Pressing a few buttons, Bane gave a quick look to Fox, who was still watching.

            "If you're listening to this, McCloud...I'm sorry."

            "You're _sorry?! You son of a bitch! If you weren't there...!" Fox snarled._

            "I know...I know...but this was never part of the bargain...Wolf would be able to stop Leon if he were here...but I don't have the rank, and if I attacked him, Derek and I would both be killed. All I can do is little things to make it easier."

            Finally finishing his work, Bane then broke off a key piece from underneath the bracer. "There, that should do it."

            "What did...did you...do?" Derek asked, weakly.

            "I made it so that the bracer can't be removed, as I'm sure Leon wants to do. I also set the frequency and programming so that it can be turned on at any time, and Fox can now tap into the channel...basically an open-line communication between you and Fox."

            "Why did you...why?"

            "I don't agree with this kind of bullshit either, but I have no choice in the matter...if I resist, you'll be killed regardless. I'm just trying to give you a fighting chance."

            "Who...are you?" Derek asked again.

            "I'm Bane...Bane Keldare...of Star Wolf."

            "Bane..." Fox closed his eyes. "I never thought I'd say this to a member of Star Wolf, especially after what _you_ did to Derek," Fox pointed to the scar on Derek's head. "...but...thank you."

            "It's up to you guys to get Derek out of here off of this icy planet...plan something, anything, when you're in the cell."

            "Derek...you're going to be fine...you're strong..." Fox comforted, taking Bane's hint.

            "Look, I gotta turn this thing off for now...the aides are here. Say your last goodbyes until Derek's back in his cell."

            Fox didn't say anything, but Derek had one thing to say...one haunting sentence to relay.

            "I...I told you...that I didn't...belong...." He moaned, the hologram flickering off.

===================================

"This is my December...

These are my snow-covered dreams...

This is me pretending...

This is all I need..."

                        --Linkin Park, "My December"

===================================****

**Venomian Base, Fortuna, Derek's Cell**

**2134 Hours**

**---------------------------------------------------**

Using his left arm to cover his eyes, Derek lay on the cot in absolute pain.

            "Derek...I'm sorry," Fox said, his holographic image still standing in the corner.

            "Fox...it's alright...I shouldn't have gone after Wolf...I shouldn't have done a lot of things."

            "You probably shouldn't have come with us...it was so selfish of me to take you along."

            "No...I keep saying things like 'I don't belong,' and such...and I really _do_ feel that way...it's just that...just that..."

            "Just that...what?" Fox asked.

            "I..._want to belong...I don't want to leave you...not now."_

            "I don't want to leave you either...I never have. You remember how we met?"

            "Yeah...I was crying in an alley and you showed up...you brought me home...a few days later I had a birthday party, and you were there...you were the only kid there...your dad left a present hanging in the tree outside my window."

            "Yep," Fox said, pulling out his own version of the silver wings from inside his shirt.. "He sure did."

            Derek clutched at his amulet, holding the wings, feeling the edges press on the inside of his fingers, not caring if they even cut into him...he loved that amulet. It was that one thing that kept him going and believing in what the church had stood for...those angelic wings symbolizing the hope that purity and light had to offer...those wings standing for all the good in the world.

            And now those wings stood for something even greater, as Derek realized, staring into Fox's green eyes, the exact same color and shade as his own.

            "Listen, Derek...it's late...we should get some sleep."

            "You're...gonna leave the com...on, right?"

            Fox nodded. "Yes...I'm gonna leave it on, but only if you do."

            "Ag...agreed," Derek said, wincing from a last twinge of pain before nodding off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Derek's dream was a strange one.

            He was standing on _something metallic, his boots were clomping down with that metal sound to them. Everything else was darkness for quite awhile. Soon, the darkness swept away as if he were exiting a tunnel, the wind suddenly whooshing over his face._

            His face...he was fine...no wounds...no pain...no bracer on his right arm...no band around his head.

            Looking up at the strange yellow-brown sky, Derek could tell that he was now on Venom...but where? It felt like he was moving at phenomenal speed, but he held fast and turned around.

            He was on the nose of the Great Fox.

            "What the..." he asked, turning back to face his destination.

            The ship was quite high above the ground, about 2000 feet or so, but that didn't stop the missiles that were heading straight for the bridge.

            "No..." Derek said, standing on the very edge of the nose.

            The missles whizzed with horrific speed, inching closer and closer to the Great Fox, closer and closer to Fox's expiration...no..._all_ of his friends' deaths.

            He held his arms out and locked them.

            "_NO!!!!" he screamed._

            Something erupted from his hands, some kind of strange blue light began to stretch upward and downward, and now began to stretch outward, toward the missiles. When the missiles finally reached the strange blue light, their paths all arced around the ship...above, below, and around the sides, but never truly reached the ship itself.

            Breathing heavily, Derek turned around again, but this time, Fox was standing there.

            "Fox...?"

            "Derek...what did you...?" he asked.

            Derek couldn't respond, feeling much too weak. In fact, he was so weak, that he began to fall backward...all the way off the nose of the Great Fox.

            "_Derek!!!!" Fox screamed, running to the edge, reaching his hand out for something that was not there._

            Derek was falling now, his hand reaching for Fox, but not saying anything. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Falco ran up the nose of the ship, and dove off in a perfect swan dive.

            "Falco?!!" Derek called, still plummeting toward the Venomian surface below.

            Falco didn't respond, but gave Derek a smug smirk.

            "Kid, you're too important to let go!" He said, the two almost hitting the surface before Derek awoke.

-------------------------------------

            Meanwhile, on his ship, Fox McCloud was having a much different dream.

            He and Derek were standing in some ancient place...it didn't look like an abandoned facility, or maybe an old industrial zone on Corneria or anything like that...it was much older. The smell of pure moisture wafted in and out of his nostrils with every breath.

            Derek walked forward toward the wall in the back of the old place, looking at a strange image sketched in stone. He traced his fingers along it, trying to make out what it said.

            "Says here that...a long time ago...there was a great war over some kind of 'spirits...'" Derek began. "These six spirits were trying to preserve themselves and keep themselves safe from the intervention of humans...but there was one spirit who was outcast long ago...and she was angry with the six...so she assisted the humans in exacerbating the war..."

            Suddenly, bright blue archaic symbols flashed across the image, forcing them both to avert their eyes.

            "What...what's that...?" Fox asked.

            Derek couldn't answer, but he did begin to clutch at his forehead. "Aah...AAH!!!"

            "Derek!"

            Clutching at the sides of his head, Derek fell to his knees, screaming as he kept shaking his head. "Fox!!! It burns!!!!"

            "Derek!"

            "Aah!!! Get...get out..._GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!"_

            The symbols disappeared, and so did the wall, revealing an inky black darkness that no light could penetrate. Derek stood up and turned to Fox, trying to get near him, but something shot out of the darkness...a thick, black, slimy tentacle wrapped itself around Derek's chest, pulling him into the blackness.

            "FOX!!!"

            "Derek!" Fox cried, struggling to get up...when he did, the same thing happened to him, but it was pulling him in a different direction. It was pulling him away from Derek.

            "Fox! Help me!!" Derek shouted, his arms reaching toward Fox as he was being drawn in.

            "Derek! Grab my hand!!" Fox said, outstretching his free arm.

            The two struggled toward each other, but in the end, the futility of the effort made itself all to clear. Derek had been pulled into the darkness, his voice silenced from the entire place.

            "God dammit...DEREK!!!" Fox called, still trying to reach Derek.

            But then the strangest thing happened.

            Falco appeared.

            "I'll take care of it," he said, walking confidently into the inky darkness.

            "Falco? Falco!!!"

            One more member of Star Fox appeared then. Peppy Hare.

            "Fox...let them go."

            "Peppy...?"

            Placing his hand on Fox's shoulder, Peppy's touch seemed to make the tentacles vanish into thin air. Fox felt his chest for a moment, and then sprinted toward the darkness...which faded quickly, leaving the old wall, with the image, in its place once more.

            "Let them go," Peppy warned.

            "But Peppy...! ...Peppy? Peppy?! Where'd you go?!

            But the old rabbit was gone.

            _Let them go._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Fox!" Derek snapped awake.

            "Derek!" Fox said one second later, rudely awakening himself.

            "That was one...one wierd dream..."

            "Same here...what was yours?" The holographic vulpine asked.

            "I was on the Great Fox...we were over Venom..."

            "You were on the ship?"

            "Yeah...but I was _on the ship...outside on the nose. Anyways...there were missiles headed for it and I held out my hands...some kind of shield came out and deflected all of them...in the end I started falling...you ran to catch me and didn't make it. I was falling for so long...it was like slow motion...then Falco..."_

            "Falco?!"

            "Yeah...he dove off, telling me...telling me I was...too important to let go."

            "Wierd..."

            "What?"

            "He was in my dream, too."

            "What...was yours?" Derek asked, tired and weak.

            "We were in some kind of temple...and you were looking at some picture...some wierd words appeared and attacked your mind. Then it turned into this black _thing, and started trying to pull you in. I tried to get you, but tha same blackness was pulling me away from you...and then it pulled you in."_

            "Where...did Falco come in?"

            "He just walked right into the darkness, saying he'd take care of it."

            "Strange."

            "Very strange."

            "I...wonder why Falco's...so important that we both...dreamed about...him?"

            "I don't know about you, but he's my best friend, if that says anything."

            "He...went after me...in both of our dreams...maybe it's a portent...?"

            "If anyone's going to have portents, it's you, Derek...why would _I_ have one?"

            "Maybe...you're psychic...too...maybe..."

            "If I were psychic, you wouldn't be here."

            "I'm psychic...and I'm still...still here..."

            "I guess. But Falco's been with me for a long time...did you know that after you were captured I cried?"

            "You cried...for...for me...?" Derek asked.

            "Yeah...for about ten minutes straight or so...and Falco helped me get over it."

            "That's...cool of...him. Although it's...unbecoming..."

            "I know, kinda shocked me at first, but he hugged me and told me you were strong."

            "I...don't know...about that...if I had to endure another day...of this...I might..."

            Fox started shaking his head. "NO!"

            "...Huh?"

            "I'm not losing you Derek! Not this early!"

            "Fox..."

            "Yeah?"

            "..."

            "Derek?"

            "...thanks." And then Derek passed out from the pain.

=========================================

"Don't want your hand this time, I'll save myself,"

Maybe I'll wake up for once...  
Not tormented, daily defeated by you,

Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom...

...I'm...dying...again."

                                    --Evanescence, "Going Under"

=========================================

**Venomian Base, Fortuna, Room 105A**

**One week later, 1257 Hours**

**--------------------------------------------------**

            After an entire week of enduring severe physical and psychological pain, Derek Shyfter had finally become jaded to torture.

            By the fourth day, his resistance to screaming left Leon to resort to more effective methods, such as water torture, to damage the human's psyche. It worked, but only for one day...in the end, Leon had to find his sick pleasures in watching the result of the injuries, instead of the pain.

            Derek's session was almost done, but this time Leon had outdone himself with his gruesome tactics...there was more blood on the floor than Derek thought he could possibly bleed. It dribbled down and underneath the bracer on his right arm--the most damaged part on his body at the moment.

            Leon smiled as the crimson spatted upon the ground.

            "So much blood...can you bear to take any more?"

            He turned to face Fox, who was staring intently into Derek's eyes, as was Falco.

            "How about you, McCloud? Can you handle the sight of your friend bleeding so badly?"

            Fox didn't respond.

            "You're all a bunch of downers...fine. I'm going to wash up."

            Leon turned and left the room, and once again, the only other resident of Star Wolf entered.

            "B-Bane...?" Derek asked, weakly.

            "Good, you remembered my name...look, you've got to make it out of here or you're not going to last much longer."

            "But how...am I gonna...make it...out?"

            Bane turned toward Fox.

            "10.4 N, 55.9 E."

            "The coordinates?" Fox gasped. Bane gave a silent nod.

            "I won't tell you again, I hope you have this recorded."

            "But if...Fox tries anything...I'll..."

            "I know, kid. I know," he said, walking closer to the table, examining something on Derek's head.

            "This thing's gonna be trouble," he muttered, pressing a few buttons on psi-blocker.

            Feeling a strange sense of ease, Derek knew what Bane had done by the sound of something powering down. He had turned off the psi-blocker.

            "Oops," he said, smirking.

            "Th-thanks...but how...could I..."

            "When the aides take you to the infirmary, make a break for it...use that power of yours."

            "I...don't have...control..."

            "Bane, he's never actually been able to control his power, it's been more like an reflex."

            "Then react to something," Bane said, walking out of room 105A.

            "Derek...I'll come get you when the time's right," Fox nodded, cutting transmission.

            "...But I...can't...even move...I don't...think."

            The aides had made their way into the infirmary with Derek in their arms...both of them being of reptilian origin, it was surprising to find them having such compassion for a human.

            "Poor kid," one of them said.

            "Yeah...must've been hard...he's really hurt."

            The door hissed open as Leon entered, carrying a large syringe.

            "I guess I should knock you out again, yes?" He said, preparing to stick the needle in Derek's arm.

            It was at that moment that Derek knew he had to do _something._ It was his only shot at getting out of there, with Leon, his only real captor, in the same room...his torturer...the smiling face he saw when the hot iron peeled off parts of his skin...the sadistic grinning face he watched as his blood sprayed all over himself and his captor...

            Derek felt that surge rising in him again...that pain, that anger, that sheer rage.

            Shooting up from the table, Derek dug his elbows into his chest, holding his fists in front of him letting out the most primal scream ever heard. That force, that power had been unleashed again, blasting everything that was within ten feet away with tremendous force. the aides and Leon all slammed into seperate walls, and Derek stood there, all alone.

            Derek was finally free.

            Pressing the button on the communicator, Derek gave Fox a solemn nod.

            "...I'm ready..." he said.

            Fox didn't respond, but instead darted toward the hangar. Using a small scalpel, Derek managed to pry the communicator off his arm. The weight lifted off his arm was a relief, but he still had to hold his arm.

            "Damn...I forgot...they always fixed me up..._after_ I was sedated...dammit..."

            Holding his bleeding right arm with his left, Derek trudged slowly toward the door of the infirmary. Outside, Bane walked past, not even looking, his left arm outstretched toward Derek, his head bowing toward the ground as if he were walking in a hurry.

            A blaster was flying through the air.

            Catching it with his left hand, Derek put it into his right, his gun hand, and used his left arm to leverage it up enough to blast the lock on the door. Leon had awoken slightly before, and realized what Derek was doing. Pounding on the door, Leon gave a snarl from inside, but Derek only grinned.

            He was free...he was almost home...he was so close to being with Fox.

            Walking very slowly down the hallway, he turned back to where Bane was walking. The crimson-clad soldier wasn't there now, he knew that, but he still had to say something.

            "Thank...thank you...Bane..."

            Turning back toward his destination, he knew...he just knew.

            Fox was coming, he would be waiting for him outside.

            It was time to go.

The end. (Chapter 5 and epilogue coming soon!)

=========================================

"So go on and scream...scream at me...

I'm so far away...

I won't be broken again!

I've got to breathe, I can't keep going under!!"

                                    --Evanescence, "Going Under"

=========================================


	5. Exodus And Those Green Eyes

Part 5 of "Humanity's Lost Claim"

"Exodus To Halcyon"

by Bane Keldare

All characters are (c) Nintendo.

Bane Keldare and Derek Shyfter are (c) to me.

All Lyrics are (c) their respective owners.

NOTES: _Yeah, final installment of "Humanity's Lost Claim." What does the future hold? Don't worry, I'm not going to abandon the fandom this early on...the story has so much more to tell. So what's next? Read on and see._

_                                                                        --Bane Keldare_

======================================

"Hold on to me, love...  
You know I can't stay long...

All I wanted to say was I love you,

And I'm not afraid..."

                        --Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

======================================

            "It was one of those sad sights that nobody enjoyed watching in the movies."

            "For seven days, young Derek Shyfter was tortured...the first day being the most severe. That wasn't the worst of it, though. What was the worst part was that Leon was actually sick enough to force Fox McCloud...who cared more deeply for Derek than anybody else, to watch as his friend, his 'little brother' was tortured, burned, slashed, scarred, and emotionally damaged by this sick individual."

            "This is a travesty that must not happen again."

            "In the heart of war, torture is always considered a serious war crime, but since mercenary units have no true affiliation, there are no laws for them to necessarily adhere to. It would be different if maybe Star Wolf were positioned on Corneria and _only Corneria, but the Lylat System is considerably larger than just a single planet, and laws are always something that can't be universal...even in the universe itself."_

            "So what does that leave us to do? I say we propose laws that apply to mercenaries. Sure, something like killing wouldn't necessarily make sense, since these strange days call for that more than anything. However, such inhumane treatment of any prisoners by a normal warring faction would be punishable by imprisonment and, depending on the situation, death. Mercenaries have been able to skirt around these laws by loopholes in our system, and thus sick madmen arise, such as Leon Powalski...torturers who find extreme pleasure in the screaming pain of others."

            "These laws must be passed soon, because I personally want Leon to pay for this."

            "How did we hear of this? It started about a week ago, when Fox and his team were sent in by the CDA to liberate the Katinan Elites and their headmaster, Major Bill Grey. Derek Shyfter, in perhaps the biggest act of bravery fought Wolf O'Donnell, one of the most skilled mercenaries of our time, and won the fight, only to be taken down by one called Bane Keldare. I'll get to him in a moment. Anyway, we recieved a call five hours later by Fox McCloud, hero of the first Lylat war, saying that Derek had been taken prisoner by Star Wolf."

            "About half an hour ago, we recieved an emergency message from Peppy Hare, a trusted friend of General Pepper. He explained all the events that had transpired, but only Fox has the full truth, since he was the only one to keep in constant, 24 hour contact with Derek. But Fox has taken action into his own hands."

            "I called this meeting to discuss the mercenary laws, yes. But I also came to pray for open assistance in getting this soldier out alive. He _is_ part of the CDA, and he has apparently made his escape from his captor, Leon, and is trying to make his way to the surface of Fortuna. Fox is en route as we speak, but we don't think he can do the job alone, not with those kind of defenses. With Derek's escape, and the absense of three members of Star Wolf, the base is also as defenseless as it is going to get. We _must take action!"_

            "As for Bane Keldare, apparently he has played a vital role in assisting Derek's escape. He first set it up so that Derek was allowed to talk to Fox while in his cell. Since Leon was so intent on Fox watching everything that happened, he never had it cut off. This may have perhaps saved Derek's sanity with all that's happened. Also, Bane turned off the psi-blocker, which kept Derek's powers 'in check.' However, it is also rumored that Derek himself doesn't have control over his own powers."

            "Bane Keldare the man is a mystery in itself, however. He was an elite soldier in Andross' forces for a short time, and was assigned to Star Wolf, where Wolf initiated him into the team, thus dubbing him a mercenary as well. What is strange is that there are no records of anyone known as Bane Keldare in our records. The earliest records of his existence are from two years ago, so it is speculated that he may have changed his identity for unknown reasons."

            "Nevertheless, we have a job to do. We must take action!"

            "We _must get our boy home!"_

**CDA Headquarters, Corneria, Grand Hall**

**1328 Hours**

**-------------------------------------------------------**

            The applause filled the great hall in an echo of accolades.

            Kurt, Pepper's trusted advisor, stood at the podium and silently stood, taking all the applause in at once, watching his effective speech touch the hearts of everyone on all 150 members of the Lylat Council. Based on Corneria and having input from Zoness, Fortuna, Katina, Titania, and the currently absent Venom, the Council was the only sense of order amidst the chaos of space.

            Turning to General Pepper, who was standing right behind him, Kurt whispered. "How'd I do?"

            Pepper stopped clapping for a moment to pat his friend on the back. "Better than I possibly could have ever done...there's a reason I have you write my speeches...and this speech almost _guarantees your position on the council when the Cornerian elections are held again."_

            "Thank you, sir," he said, turning back to his echoes of congratultions.

            Pepper leaned to the side, recieving word about something from an aide. Walking to the podium, Pepper silenced the crowd.

            "I have just recieved an emergency transmission...from Star Wolf."

            The crowd gasped, and disquieted murmers rolled around the hall.

            The monitor behind Pepper flicked on, the General turning to face the caller.

            It was Bane.

            "General Pepper, honorable council, I understand the emnity you all might have against Star Wolf. I understand all that Leon has done, and I know that you all know what I have done as well. But you must listen to me. We mercenaries are not cold-blooded murderers, we don't do _anything_ for sweet cash. I'm here you prove to you something that you might not believe at first."

            "Leon's actions were _individual, and not in any way the fault of Star Wolf."_

            "I was afraid to come out and admit this before, because of the position Derek Shyfter was in. If any resistance had been shown to Leon...he would've killed the kid on the spot, maybe even me. I didn't agree to the tortures but because I was greatly outranked, and Wolf was too far away to stop Leon, I had no choice but to keep my trap shut."

            Pepper cleared his throat. "Where's the proof of this?!"

            Bane walked over to a desk carrying aiming his camera at a small laptop, the one that belonged to Wolf. Opening the email Wolf recieved a week ago, he pointed at the sender's address.

            "You see this? This an anonymous email that sent Wolf off to find his brother, Lune, somewhere on Zoness. That is the reason for his absence. He left Leon and I in charge of this base here on Fortuna."

            "So you're _at the base, then?"_

            "Yes, I'm still here, but this will be my last act here. I traced this address back to it's source, and it turns out that it was an address that is currently owned by Leon...it's one of the backup addresses he uses for anonymous purchases and the like."

            "Just what _are you saying?" Pepper asked._

            "I'm saying that Leon _sent Wolf to find someone named Lune, and pretended like he wasn't interested...he __wanted to torture Derek! That was his intention all along! I'm sorry I am unable to stay, but since I'm sure there's some kind of force on its way here, I must depart to join the rest of my team."_

            "Wait! Why don't you help Derek?! You'd be a hero! C'mon!" The crowd roared.

            "I'm not meant to be a hero, no matter what the circumstances. I'm sorry, I have no idea where Derek is, and I can't jeopardize my position by assisting him in his escape directly. I'm sorry, but I gotta go."

            The transmission cut out.

            Kurt stood aghast, and cleared his throat, mild feedback screeching over the speakers.

            "What...what now, sir?"

            Pepper turned back to the council.

            "We head for Fortuna, to help Fox!"

            The crowd roared.

**Venomian Base, Fortuna, Sector A**

**1330 Hours**

**----------------------------------------------**

Beaten, broken, bleeding, all those words could describe the only human being in the Lylat System now, as Derek Shyfter slowly made his way down the hallway. Nobody knew just what was going on yet, and Leon was unable to contact anybody from inside the infirmary.

            "I...guess it's good...that it's quiet..." Derek whispered to himself.

            Holding Bane's blaster in his dead right arm, Derek could feel the blood rolling down over his bare elbow, down his wrist, and entwining itself amongst his fingers, only to drip on the floor a few seconds later...the stream was fairly constant, but it wasn't dangerously large, fortunately.

            "Gotta...find out...where the exit...is..." he said.

            "Hey! You there!" Called an unfamiliar voice. Derek knew it was a guard.

            Turning and holding his right arm in his left, Derek didn't care..he just pulled the trigger. The red beam flared to life as it streaked toward its target, piercing the soldier in the chest, right about where his heart was. Holding his wound, the guard slumped to the ground. Slowly making his way over, Derek began searching the body for anything he could use. A couple of universal blaster packs, some bandages, and a small plastic card around the guard's neck.

            "Thank...god...a key...key card..."

            With some kind of renewed stamina, Derek increased his speed slightly and made his way into an emergency supply closet with the newly acquired key. Tearing off the rest of the sleeve on his right arm, he began to wrap one of the bandages. It stung at first, feeling the cotton against the bare wound, but eventually the pain subsided, and so did the trickle of blood.

            "Good...now I won't bleed on the floor..."

            "What the hell?!" Came a voice from outside.

            "Shit...the body..." Derek realized, snapping his mouth shut with his hands.

            "This blood trail's going to the infirmary!" Called another voice, followed by two sets of footprints clomping down the other way.

            With a renewed sense of strength, Derek opened the door to the closet and darted around the corner, holding his gun up by his head. Giving a slight sigh of relief, he started down the corridor he had just entered. It was quite abandoned, as most of the base was, and Derek's footsteps seemed to be quite loud now. Coming across a map, Derek studied his current position.

            "Let's see...I'm here...somewhere," he said, pointing to Sector A.

            The diagram showed the facility in a hexagonal shape, Sector A being on the bottom. Sector B led to C, C led to D, et cetera. The only visible, obvious exits to the cold surface were the hangars, all the way at Sector D.

            "On the other fucking side...figures..." Derek growled.

            "Oh shit! Sir! Are you alright Sir?!" The guards sounded surprised.

            "They found Leon...dammit..." growled Derek again. "I gotta get outta here..."

            The corridor, unfortunately, had no exit. Instead, at the end was a small grate that obviously led to the air conditioning and heating system. Using some of his precious strength, Derek managed to pull off the grate, and crawled inside, closing his exit the best he could with his feet.

            "Oh _this looks like fun..."_

            Three footsteps echoed and walked past the corridor Derek was just in. Among them, the voice of Leon could be overheard.

            "The boy's escaped...apparently the Psi-blocker wasn't as powerful as we had hoped. He knocked me and my aides out for a few minutes...luckily I didn't slam into the wall as far as they did. And where the _hell_ is Bane?!!"

            "I have no idea, Sir...last I saw he was leaving his quarters."

            "Where was he going?"

            "I think he was headed toward the hangar."

            "The _hangar?! What the hell...? Go find him! We've probably only got a half an hour before Star Fox and the rest of the CDA march down our throats!"_

            "The CDA?!"

            "_Yes!" Leon shouted. "Morons...the only reason they didn't attack is because we had Derek...and now he's escaped! Do you think they're going to let this opportunity slide when Wolf's still away at Zoness?!"_

            "No sir, sorry sir."

            "Whatever...get our troops prepared...we're taking the battle to the air."

            "Yes sir."

            Derek sighed.

            "Dammit..."

            Crawling through the ventilation system, Derek had no real idea of where he was going...only that he was heading north, to Sector D...to the hangar. The warm air running through the shaft felt so good...so...nice...

            Weakened by all the duress, Derek had soon fallen asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            _Derek..._

            "That voice...it sounds familiar...no...he's dead..."

            _Derek..._

            "But...I've seen him before..."

            "Derek."

            "Terace?" Derek whirled around.

            "Yes," the spotted feline nodded. "I'm here."

            "What's going on?"

            "You fell asleep, nothing serious."

            "Terace, I have a question..."

            "Yes?"

            "Why are you still with me? Why am I still able to see you?"

            "You're a human...you have psionic powers beyond compare."

            "But I...I don't know how to control it."

            "True, but some of your powers are so innate that you haven't the need to necessarily _control it. One of these is your ability to communicate with spirits, particularly those you cared for."_

            "I see. So...what I just _fell asleep in the ventilation shaft?"_

            "Yes and no."

            "Yes and no?"

            "I won't answer the question...you'll do a fine job of that soon."

            "Fair enough."

            The two stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes, walking around in the blackness of Derek's subconscious. Terace cleared his throat.

            "Do you still believe in your own version of faith?"

            "I..." Derek gave a solemn look. "I don't know."

            "What's changed your mind?"

            "This light inside...the light inside all things...it doesn't seem like it exists at all!"

            "Why's that?"

            "Because...because of that monster."

            "Ah yes, Leon. That was very painful to watch."

            "So even you were watching."

            "Yes."

            "Well...as for Leon...he has no light inside...he's a twisted bastard, pure and simple."

            "I see...I think you might be having a question in ethics and truths."

            "That's just it..._truths. There's more than one version of truth out there...mine just wasn't...wasn't correct. I haven't run across this light inside except for Fox and his friends, Uncle Pepper, and you..."_

            "What about you?"

            "I don't know anymore...I can't really seem to describe it."

            "Try."

            "It's like the white and black of the galaxy suddenly mixed into the greyest shade of grey...there's no certain good or evil here anymore."

            "But surely you must think that Venom is evil?"

            "I don't know anymore...I just don't know. Maybe Venom has a reason to be angry...I still don't know the full details of what went on when Andross was banished."

            "Nobody really does. The press only said that he was exiled for his experiments."

            "Yeah, but what _were those experiments?" Derek asked._

            "That is a good question. I have another one for you."

            "Alright," Derek nodded.

            "Why do you think your light is dying?"

            "Because...ever since Katina...it's like I never cared about taking life before."

            "That is the mark of a soldier, Derek. Wasn't that what you trained to be?"

            "I...I suppose."

            "Why did you join the CDA?"

            "Because I wanted to be part of the CDA!"

            _No...that's not true..._ Derek thought.

            "You're lying."

            "I..."

            "Admit it, _why did you join the CDA?!"_

            "So...so Uncle Pepper would be proud of me..."

            "That's not it either."

            "So...Fox would be...proud of me..." Derek said, tears welling up in his eyes.

            "There you go," Terace nodded.

            "But...I never thought..."

            "Think about it, Derek...what did you think Fox did with his work? Stroll around and defeat everything with a staff like he did on Dinosaur Planet?"

            "I..."

            "Fox has had to deal with this very same problem, you know. He had to deal with the fact that he kills people...he rips them away from everything they cared about and everything that cared about them. He's torn hundreds, if not thousands, of people away from their families and friends! Did you really think he's a 'pure' soldier? He's a killing machine!"

            Derek gave an angry look.

            "_No!"_

            "Oh? Have you a defense?"

            "He cared for me...would a killing machine care about me?"

            Terace looked shocked.

            "He cried when I was captured...and his eyes were pouring tears when I was being tortured...I _remember that...staring into those green eyes as the liquid distorted the shape of the iris...watching his fur get matted down by the wetness...he _cried_ for me!"_

            Terace gave a knowing smile. "At last, you are beginning to understand."

            "Understand?! Understand what?!"

            "That even ruthless killing machines have hearts, souls, _emotions._"

            "Fox isn't a killing machine!"

            "Than what is he?"

            Derek reflected back on what Falco said days before.

            "_Yeah...your green eyes...just like Fox's..."_

            "Fox is...my big brother," Derek said, confidently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

=================================

"I won't back down...I will not bow...

I've come to bring you hell!

And I can't forget...things you did...

I've come to bring you hell!"

                        --Fuel, "Won't Back Down"

=================================

**Venomian Air-Space, Fortuna**

**1400 Hours**

**-----------------------------------------------------**

Fox had left the Great Fox's hangar long ago, and was now flying his Arwing, more armed than most of the Cornerian Army combined. Two blasters, two different blasters, a couple of bullet-munitioned pistols, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and a few grenades were all sitting behind him, resting comfortably in the space behind his seat.

            "Fox! Wait for the rest of them!" Peppy cautioned.

            "No way. I'm not waiting this time."

            "Hey, moron! You'd better wait for me, you're wearing my fuckin' coat!!" Falco jeered.

            Indeed he was...Fox always took a liking for Falco's black trenchcoat. The leather reflected what little light there was. He grabbed the coat, not out of style, but because of convenience. Falco had picked out the coat because of the many pockets and straps it contained on the inside...perfect for weaponry. The mission Fox had in his mind was all too clear...get in, get Derek, get out...and kill anyone who gets in the way.

            He was hoping that Leon would get in the way.

            "Leon...dammit..." Fox murmured angrily.

            Fox knew the CDA was coming...Peppy had told him about five minutes ago. Where were they? One step behind as usual...the council always had some stupid reason or another to spend another half hour during critical moments. Fortunately, nothing had appeared on Fox's radar just yet, meaning one of two things. Either Venom didn't know he was coming, or they didn't have sufficient manpower to stop him.

            Something large appeared on the bottom of his radar then...two...no, three large blips. _Four now, coming up behind him at phenomenal speed. It couldn't have been...could it?_

            It was. The CDA had arrived.

            "Sorry we're late, Fox!" Pepper joked over the com.

            "Nice one, sir. Look, don't get in my way, alright?!"

            "We have no intention of interfering...we're just taking this base back for Fortuna, that's all," Pepper smirked.

            "Good."

            Falco's Arwing came up on Fox's right side.

            "Hey, you weren't seriously going down there without me, were you?" He smiled.

            "Wouldn't dream of it, buddy," Fox replied, both of them diving down through the atmosphere.

            The turbulence only lasted for a few minutes, but Fox was starting to worry a bit...that big pile of weapons in the back were just _waiting_ for the wrong time to discharge...a well-placed bullet or laser to the cockpit glass could easily depressurize the whole ship and send Fox to quite an ugly fate. Nothing happened though, and Fox sighed.

            "That was close."

            "What, you got something in there?" Falco rolled his eyes.

            "Only enough weapons to supply a small army," Fox chuckled.

            "Damn...you're a dumbass, you know that?"

            "I'm a _heavily-armed dumbass!"_

            "Alright, so where's this base the kid's trapped in?"

            "Bane said the coords were...10.4N, 55.9E...I think."

            "And you're gonna believe him, just like that?"

            "Yeah...remember, he was trying to _help_ us, Falco."

            "He's still Star Wolf...and I still don't trust him."

            A large blip appeared on the radar, at about the coordinates that Bane had relayed an hour before. Fox gave Falco a quick grin.

            "Shut up, McCloud."

            "I'm not saying a word."

            Falco was angry, yes...but he was also glad that, despite all that had happened, Fox was in enough of a good mood to tell jokes back and forth, even if they _were_ merely insults. Closing his eyes and smiling, Falco gave a small chuckle.

            "You sure are a confident bastard, you know that?"

            "A confident, _well-armed bastard."_

            "Yeah. So I gathered."

            Suddenly, about fifty very small red dots appeared on the radar.

            "Holy shit!!!" Fox and Falco both responded.

**Venomian Base, Fortuna, Unknown Sector**

**1400 Hours**

**--------------------------------------------------------**

Derek's eyes snapped open at the sound of an air-raid siren. Looking around, he realized that nobody was really racing anywhere...the hallway he was standing in was completely devoid of anything living.

            He turned around and found out the reason why.

            Behind him lay several dead bodies...killed in such strange manners. Some of them by blaster, some of them appeared as if they had broken their necks from impact...many of them leaning on a nearby wall. Blood ran everywhere...splattered on the ground and the walls...this had only happened once before...on Corneria...in that building. Derek knew what had happened to him in the last thirty minutes.

            Caina had taken control of him again.

            "Dammit..." Derek held his right arm...which was bleeding again.

            The siren, along with the traditional base alarms, sounded with such a cacophany that Derek almost had to hold his ears to keep the high-pitched shrieking sounds at bay. If he could lift his right arm, he would in order to block out the horrendous noise.

            Feeling weaker than he had ever felt before, Derek began to stumble down the hallway...the weakness seeming almost as if it were trying to make itself known...it was fulfilling its purpose well. Derek felt like he was in some kind of adrenaline rush...but it was as if it was the only thing that was keeping him on his feet and progressing forward.

            It was a pitiful sight. Derek held his bleeding right arm, feeling the warm blood trickling over both sets of fingers...listening it drop to the floor. He could easily die of blood loss if he didn't get medical attention soon. His feet crossed each other very awkwardly as he almost seemed to stumble down the hall. To the outside viewer, Derek looked like a zombie, staring ahead with dead eyes...green eyes...

            _Just like Fox's..._

            "Hey! There's the kid!" Two guards shouted from down the hall.

            Looking ahead, Derek propped his right arm to aim, and pulled the trigger.

            *Click*

            "Fuck..."

            *Click, click, click,* Derek pulled the trigger over and over again.

            Dropping his arm, Derek stared ahead as the guards approached. They didn't even have their sights trained on the human now...they just approached, knowing that Derek wasn't going anywhere. This was it...Derek's escape attempt had failed.

            Unless...

            Derek held his left hand by his face, balling it into a fist, and closing his eyes.

            "Yeah, right. You're in no condition to be fighting, kid." One of the guards said, the other laughing.

            "I...don't want to fight...I just want...I want to..."

            Derek's voice turned to a growl, which grew and grew until it became a scream.

            "_I JUST WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!"_

            His eyes flared open as he shot his hand out, palm open. A furious look on his face, Derek watched with callousness as the two guards were sent flying down the hallway, both of them landing hard on their backs, releasing their grips on their weapons. Derek's walk had corrected itself now, as he walked normally now, hand outstretched.

            "What the hell?!!" One of the soldiers' voices quavered.

            They stood up, and started running toward Derek with their bare hands, but Derek retracted and pushed his hand out again, sending them flying back even further, this time into a wall. One of them was rendered unconscious, the other one just stared in horror.

            "What...what are you...?" He trembled, getting a good look at the bloody hallway behind the human.

            "I'm...just someone...looking for a way...out...."

            "You're a monster! Stay away from me!"

            "I won't hurt you if you tell me what sector I'm in."

            "Sector C...why?"

            "Where's D?! Where's the hangars?!"

            The guard pointed down the hallway where it parted. "There..over there..."

            "Good," Derek said, pushing the guard's head into the wall one last time, knocking him out.

            After all that, Derek went back to stumbling down the hallway, holding his dead arm, shambling zombie-like down toward the hangars. But at least one good thing had erupted from all of this...he had come to use his powers of his own volition. Finally, he was starting to understand them.

            Pulling out a blaster pack, he removed the one in his gun and slammed the fresh one inside, listening to it charge. Sighing with relief, Derek opened the door to Sector D.

**Venomian Base, Fortuna**

**1400 Hours**

**----------------------------------------------**

            The attack was proceeding quite nicely.

            At first, Falco and Fox were alone against the Venomian forces that were scrambling to attack...many of them flew out of the base in a steady stream leading the two to believe that the hangar was relatively small...and it was no big surprise. This base wasn't built by Venom, it was siezed by Venom from Fortuna...a rather mild planet when it came to war.

            Soon, the CDA arrived, using its large battleships to take out the anti-aircraft guns and laser towers. Then the forces were deployed, and Venom began to run scared. Hundreds upon hundreds of small aircraft took to the sky and managed to rout most of the Venomian fleet in only a matter if minutes. The fighting was still going on, however, because Venom had managed to call in reinforcements somehow.

            Landing outside the main wall of the facility, Fox looked around for a minute, and then blasted a large hole in the side with the Arwing's cannons. Preparing the landing gear, Fox felt the familiar bounce as the Arwing landed on the soft snow below, the engines warming the snow and melting most of it around the ship.

            Fox reached behind his seat and began to load up his coat...putting the blasters and pistols on the inside, and holding the shotgun firmly in his hand, he hopped down and almost slipped on the snow. Regaining his footing, he walked into the facility, ready to take down anyone inside.

            But it was empty.

            "Hmm...guess they're all in the air," he muttered.

            "Hey Fox! I got the schematics of the base!" Slippy called in.

            "Good...where the hell am I?"

            "Um...well the base is shaped like a hexagon, like you saw...and Derek's cell was in the southern sector...I believe it's 'A.'"

            "Alright...go on," Fox said, moving around silently.

            "Well, the sectors progress from A to B to C, etc. They go in a clockwise pattern, all the way to F."

            "I gotcha...so _where am I?"_

            "You're...in Sector A."

            "What? Shit! Derek's probably on the other side of the base by now!"

            "He's probably headed for the hanger, Fox."

            "And _where is that?"_

            "Um..."

            "Slippy...!" Fox snarled.

            "D! It's in D! Sorry!"

            "Dammit! This base is _huge! Do you think Derek could be there already?!!"_

            "Maybe...the air-ducts run right down the middle of the base...if he took those then he might make it there by now."

            Fox examined the hallway that led to Derek's cell and the infimary, and followed a small blood trail. Stepping over the dead guard, he continued to follow it until he came to a small hallway. At the end was a small grate, large enough for someone slender to crawl through. Then he noticed it.

            The sides were bent slightly.

            Walking over, Fox managed to pull the grate off with one hand, and looked at the blood inside, smeared as if something had dragged across it, like a leg or a shoe.

            "Fuck! He's on the other side!" Fox complained as he ran toward the Arwing.

            Struggling to throw the weapons in the back again, Fox finally managed to plop down in his favorite seat. Pressing a few buttons and pulling on the stick, Fox was back in the air once again.

======================================

"I'll miss the winter...A world of fragile things...

Look for me in the white forest

Hiding in a hollow tree...(come find me...)

I know you hear me...

...I can taste it in your tears!

                        --Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

======================================

            The door to the hangar bay hissed open, and Derek shambled inside.

            He was so close now...he could actually _see_ snow on the ground in certain places. His head beginning to swirl around a little, he knew that the end could actually be very close...he could actually die at a moment's notice...at least, that's what he _thought,_ but something was still keeping him going.

            "So...so close...gotta find how to open...the door..." Derek said weakly as he examined the main bay door from the back.

            Hiding behind an unused ship, Derek peered around the side at anything that could open the door...a button, a lever, even something to pry it open if that's what it took. Finally, he spotted it on the right side of the door...the opposite side he entered the room on. There was a small button that appeared to be marked somehow with yellow and black stripes around it.

            An emergency door operation switch.

            Dragging himself over, Derek began to reflect on all the things that happened that were so close to being over now...the torture was done...the killing was over...Leon was gone...all that was left now was to hit that button. He finally reached it, and slowly lifted his arm up to press the button, when he heard the familiar clicking sound of a readied blaster.

            "Not so fast, Derek Shyfter."

            Derek whirled around, only to stare into the reptilian face of Leon.

            _Shit..._ he thought.

            "So, you thought you were pretty clever, locking me in the infirmary?" Leon pushed his gun out a bit further. "But you underestimated my soldiers, didn't you? You didn't think I'd make it out here."

            Derek didn't say a word. He only growled.

            "Why so pale? Hmm...it must be from the blood loss," Leon pointed out.

            Indeed, Derek was getting rather pale...his face had lost almost all its color, and it felt as if his heart was starting to slow down. In fact, it was getting to the point that Derek couldn't help but notice every heartbeat as it passed.

            "Drop the gun."

            Derek dropped the blaster.

            Approaching, Leon waved his hand around. "Look at this, Derek...this base was built by Fortuna and captured by us...and you actually thought you could get out on your own?"

            "The CDA...and Fox...they're out there..."

            "So? So my men are getting routed out there...that still doesn't save you!"

            Now in Derek's face, Leon began to press his blaster hard into the human's forehead. "You really thought you were worth something, didn't you? You were captured, tortured, and still you kept going...quite remarkable, but stupid. There's no such thing as a hero, Derek. Only those who kill and those who are killed."

            "I'm not a hero...I'm not here to be a hero..."

            "Oh? Then what are you here to do?"

            "I'm here to...here to..." Derek closed his eyes.

            "Here to what?"

            Remaining silent for a moment, Derek then grew a sinister grin on his face. His eyes flared open again, a purple glow shining within them.

            "...To purge," he replied.

            Without making any gestures, Derek forced Leon to fly to the right about ten feet out, slamming him into the cold ground below. Sliding the gun out of Leon's hand, Derek lifted him in the air by the neck, the chameleon grasping his throat for the invisible hands that throttled him.

            "Who...what the hell....?" Leon gasped.

            "I am Caina...and I think I like you," Derek grinned.

            "W...What...the...?"

            Derek released his unseen grasp and let Leon crash into the floor.

            "You seem to be worthy of me...finally..." Derek said.

            Pushing his hand out, Derek used his powers to force Leon against the wall..._hard._ Stunned, Leon held his side as he stood up.

            The purple glow leaving his eyes, Derek shook his head. "Huh...wha...?"

            Realizing where he was, Derek hurried over to the emergency switch and pressed it hard with his left hand. The bay door began to lift itself, and the cold air from the outside began to sweep under the doorway, blowing snow and ice through the interior.

            Pulling out another blaster, Leon held it at Derek. "Not...so fast..."

            However, when the door was open enough, Leon's single gun was met by about ten fully armed CDA soldiers, their sights all trained on him. Behind them, Falco gave an evil glare toward the lizard.

            "Game over, pal!"

            Dropping the gun, Leon held his hands in the air. "Damn...dammit..."

            Derek began to stumble outside, and began to trudge through the cold snow.

            "Hey kid! C'mon! We gotta get you help!!!" Falco said, grabbing Derek's shirt.

            Spotting Fox's ship landing in the distance, Derek shot Falco an almost inhuman glance.

            "Let...let me go!"

            Falco released his grip and waved his hand, gesturing toward Fox's Arwing.

            The Arwing landed, Fox hopped out instantly, not even caring about leaving his ship on. The snow whipped the coat around the front of his body, the straps flailing wildly. Tears welling up in his eyes, he could see his "little brother" in the distance, holding a bleeding right arm, almost as pale as the snow, the crimson staining the pure white blanket below.

            Running as fast as he could, Fox fell a couple of times, but didn't let it phase him. Finally, he reached the weakened Derek, who collapsed into the vulpine's arms.

            "F-Fox...I knew...I knew you'd..."

            Tears started to dribble down Fox's muzzle, tamping his fur down. "Shh...don't talk, c'mon Derek...don't give up on me..."

            "I...I'm so messed up...I'm going to...I think I'm gonna...die...?"

            "No! I'm not going to let you!!!"

            Finally getting a good look at Fox's face, Derek stared intently at his friend's eyes as he was scooped up and carried back to the Arwing.

            "Hey...Falco was...was right..."

            "About what?" Fox said, sitting in the Arwing with Derek in his lap.

            "You and I...we got the same..."

            Taking off, Fox headed for the nearest medical ship, which was fortunately only about two miles back.

            "The same...what?"

            "The same...the same..." Derek tried to say as Fox began docking procedure.

            Finally inside, the cockpit of the Arwing slid open, a medical team crowding by the ship.

            "The same...eyes......"

            And then, Derek's world faded to black.

**===============================================================**

**_Epilogue: "Those Green Eyes"_**

****

======================================

"I'm going under...

Drowning in you...

I'm falling forever...

I've got to break through...

I'm going under!

                        --Evanescence, "Going Under"

======================================

**Great Wolf Living Room, Zoness Air-Space**

**Two days later, 1745 Hours**

**---------------------------------------------------------**

            "I admit, I was the one who helped Derek escape," Bane said, hanging his head low as Wolf crossed his arms.

            "Yeah, well you'd better have a damn good reason why."

            Bane pulled a laptop out of his bag and plopped it down on a nearby table, opening and booting it up.

            "Hey, that's mine!" Wolf complained.

            "Hold on, I'm not done...my 'damn good reason' is inside that computer."

            Finally started up, Bane began clacking keys, opening up Wolf's email account. Opening up the email that sent Wolf to Zoness, Bane pointed.

            "See that?"

            "Yeah...whoever that fucker was he sent us on a wild goose chase...nobody even _heard of Lune down there."_

            "No..._that," Bane pointed at the address._

            "Yeah? So?"

            Going back, Bane opened up the account that belonged to the address.

            "I had some of our computer specialists hack into the account and get the code. Guess what I found out?"

            Wolf sighed. "That you were bored enough to start hacking for no reason?"

            Opening up the account's email preferences, Bane pointed to the "auto-forward" option. The option basically said to automatically forward all incoming emails to Leon's account.

            "What the hell...?" Wolf's good eye widened.

            "Exactly. Apparently, Leon _sent this email to you in the first place."_

            "But...but _why?"_

            "Do I really need to go into what happened to Derek on Fortuna? Do I have to explain how Leon tortured the kid for days on end, forcing McCloud to watch, and smiling every second of it?"

            "I guess not...sick bastard."

            "Yeah, so there was my good reason."

            "That still doesn't justify anything."

            Bane smirked. "You told me if he tried anything to interfere...so I did. Don't tell me that the money was more important...because you and I both know that Andross wouldn't have paid us if the kid were that badly hurt...last I heard, Shyfter's comatose on Corneria somewhere."

            "No shit...well I guess you got a point there."

            "The only thing I regret is letting Leon get captured by Corneria...I know what he meant to the team."

            "Don't get me wrong...he was a good pilot, and a good fighter, but all he was good for was nothing in the end."

            "You mean...?"

            "I mean that for some reason I kept his sorry ass on the team, and I've kinda wanted him gone ever since he tortured those Katinan soldiers."

            "I see."

            Wolf looked out the window at Zoness, and chuckled. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small blue card and tossed it at Bane. "Catch."

            Bane fumbled it in his hands for a moment. "I don't understand."

            "Well, with Leon out of the picture, I guess you got yourself a ship."

            "I...I dunno what to say."

            "Don't say anything. I don't want you getting all mushy on me."

            Bane smiled.

            "Wouldn't dream of it."

**Corneria City General Hospital**

**Eight Days Later, 857 Hours**

**-----------------------------------------**

            "You're very lucky you got him to a medical ship in time, Mr. McCloud," The doctor nodded, pushing the spectacles up his raccoon face.

            "Yeah...the Arwing's one of the fastest ships out there," he said, shifting his weight in the chair, seated in waiting room of the hospital.

            Peppy patted Fox on the shoulder. "You did all you could."

            "Yes," the doctor agreed. "and so did Derek. The blood loss was pretty severe, but it was more shock than anything that sent him into his current state. I'm sorry, Fox...I have no idea when he could come around. The most time we can be optimistic is three months, after that...the chances of him coming around are reduced dramatically, and continue to decline day by day."

            "I understand."

            "I can let you go in to see him now. I'm sorry it's so late but we needed to stabilize Derek, and the procedures were quite risky."

            "Alright," Fox said, standing up.

            The doctor led Fox into a small room...the sterility bothered Fox's nose a bit...there wasn't a scent to be found here. In the bed lay Derek, hooked up to a number of machines. The beeping of the heart-monitor was the loudest sound in the room.

            Pulling up a chair by Derek's bed, Fox touched the human's hand.

            "Hey, buddy. I don't know how to say it any other way, but...I'm sorry."

            Derek didn't respond.

            "I shouldn't have dragged you along...maybe I shouldn't even have put you on the Great Fox back on Corneria...I should've brought you to Pepper...you would've been fine in the CDA headquarters...it wasn't even touched during the siege...but instead I pulled you along with me, and I don't know why."

            Derek still didn't respond.

            "Shit...I know why. I wanted you with us...with me. I love you like you were my own kid brother, and now you're all grown up. You could've made this decision on your own...I should've let you. But somehow I have this feeling you would've come along with me anyways...that's the way you always were."

            Glancing over, Fox noticed the small silver amulet dangling off the lamp off the nightstand. Slipping it off, he snapped the clasp open, and pulled out a small pair of wings from his chest pocket. Star Fox wings. Sliding them through the amulet's chain, he snapped the clasp back together and hung it back up on the lamp, the two pairs of silver wings jingling against each other.

            "Happy birthday, Derek."

            And once again, the brave leader of Star Fox began to cry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Inside Derek's head, he was standing in a beautiful meadow of flowers, in the shade of a large tree.

            "Wow...it's so nice here."

            The sun was shining brightly amidst the blue sky, and the peaceful sound of birds chirping echoed quite brilliantly. The scent of the numerous flowers filling the human's nostrils.

            "But...where _am I?"_

            "You..._we are in purgatory..." a female voice answered._

            Derek frowned. "Hello, Caina."

            Caina appeared before him, her golden hair pouring over the white sleeveless coat.

            "Listen to me Derek...I'm not here to fight you this time, you haven't the strength to continue anyways."

            "Then why _are you here?"_

            "I'm here to say goodbye. I'm leaving now, Derek."

            "What? You're _leaving? How is that possible?"_

            "It is the truth of my existence...I am what is called a spirit."

            "A spirit, huh?"

            "Not just any spirit, however."

            Derek gave a puzzled look. "Oh?"

            "I am what is called a 'Krazoa Spirit.'"

            "_What?!!"_

            Derek had heard the name before...Fox told him of his adventure on Dinosaur Planet a few months prior to all of this.

            "I was outcast by my peers because of my...intentions."

            "They didn't agree with your need to purge," Derek concluded.

            "Indeed."

            Derek growled, still angry that Caina was still there.

            "The only thing I wish to say to you is that I'm sorry."

            "You're _sorry?!!"_

            It was something Derek had never expected someone like Caina to say...it was as if the words didn't have any meaning at all.

            "Yes...I'm sorry."

            "Yeah, well...I guess I'm sorry too," Derek said, turning his back.

            Caina placed her gentle hand on Derek's shoulder.

            "The only thing I can say is that this is purgatory...soon you will either die, or you will wake up...but in your current state...the decision is yours to make," she pointed.

            Blinking, Derek took sight of something rather strange. About sixty feet in front of him, the meadow broke, showing a glowing blue river flowing endlessly. Beyond the river's opposite bank lay a desolate land, grey, dark, with dead and dying trees all around.

            "This is the world in its true form."

            "So...what are you saying?"

            "I'm going to leave you now, Derek...it's up to you whether or not you wish to return to the real world."

            Caina's touch lightened, and then disappeared completely, evaporating away as if it were nothing more than air.

            "The real world...?" Derek asked himself, running toward the river.

            It _sounded and _smelled_ like a river, babbling down the endless field harmlessly. Dipping his hand in, Derek gasped at the coldness, but it felt like water. Staring ahead at the dying world, Derek held his breath as he stepped inside. The river was only about three feet deep, so Derek began walking through it. When he got halfway across, it was as if the river had discovered Derek's purpose...and began to pull him back toward the other side._

            "No...I gotta make it!" Derek struggled, feeling the river pulling on his legs. Pulling his legs with his arms, Derek grunted and huffed as he fought with the river's icy pull. Finally, grabbing the earthen clay on the opposite shore, he managed to pull himself out.

            "Made it..." he sighed.

            With a renewed sense of vigor, Derek began to walk amongst the bleak surroundings. A cold wind whistled through the dead trees, and the sun was covered by dark clouds. The coldness made Derek hold his arms, shivering.

            Down the worn path, Derek made out something strange...a glowing figure, holding his face in his hands, huddled over a bed. It was all too obvious who it was.

            Fox.

            "Fox!!" Derek cried, running up to the bed.

            "I shouldn't have...shouldn't have dragged you along..." Fox sobbed, not even noticing Derek.

            Something overcame the human then...that something got him to lay down on the empty bed and watch Fox sob for a few minutes...and then...and then...

            And then Derek sat up and hugged Fox, a blinding light overwhelming him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            It was then that both Fox and Derek realized they were hugging each other.

            "Derek! Derek!!!" Fox said, squeezing tighter.

            "Fox...thanks...thank you Fox," Derek hugged back.

            The doctor, Peppy, Falco, and Slippy all ran in at Fox's sudden outburst.

            "He's okay!" Peppy exclaimed.

            "Good," Falco nodded triumphantly.

            "Woo-hoo!!" Slippy cheered.

            "This is remarkable! Derek! Tell me, what time is it?" The doctor pointed at a nearby clock.

            "It's...it's...Nine..." Derek said, not even letting go of Fox.

            "Fantastic! Derek, I think you're going to be okay!"

            Fox's tears finally subsided.

            "Thank God..." he said. "Thank God."

**Corneria City General Hospital**

**Two days later, 1508 Hours**

**------------------------------------------**

            "Mr. McCloud? Fox McCloud?" Asked a female voice.

            "Yeah?" Fox said, looking up from his newspaper, sitting in the waiting room.

            "My name is Doctor Carol...you remember me?" She said, her otter-like face smiling.

            "Yeah...you were the one who found out what species Derek is, right?"

            "That's right...could you come with me for a moment?"

            "I...guess so...Derek's not coming back for an hour or so."

            Following Dr. Carol to her office, Fox sat down in a chair, as the doctor walked behind her desk, pulling out a couple of files.

            "I brought you here because I've discovered an interesting enigma regarding Derek."

            "Oh?"

            Pulling out a couple of pictures, she showed them to Fox. They were pictures of two right eyes, both with schematics over them, in full color. Fox scratched his head.

            "What's this?"

            "The picture on the left is Derek's right eye."

            The picture gave a description of everything...retinal scan...exact eye color, pupil size, everything.

            "And...this one?" Fox held up the right photo.

            "That...is a schematic of _your right eye."_

            Fox rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

            "I know. Look at the eye color descriptions of Derek's right eye."

            "Alright...Red 2.0008876, Blue 30.0989083, Green 67.9002041...Doctor I don't see where you're going with this."

            "Read yours."

            Fox cleared his throat. "Red 2.0008876, blue 30.0989083...Green..." he realized.

            "Keep reading."

            "Green...67.9002041...what the hell?"

            "Exactly."

            "What does this mean?"

            "That's the tip of the iceburg."

            The otter pulled out a couple more files, laying them on the table.

            "These are DNA test results for both you and Derek...taken back when you both joined the CDA...you remember?"

            "Yeah, that needle hurt like fuckin' hell," Fox joked.

            The doctor chuckled. "Yes, well...I thought the chances of you two having the exact eye color and shade was rather slim, so I pulled up these files...and I can't believe that nobody noticed it before."

            "Noticed _what before?"_

            "That you two are almost identical on the genetic level."

            "_What?!! Look, lady...I dunno how you came up with this, but in case you haven't noticed, Derek's a _human,_ and I'm a fox!"_

            "I understand...but those specific genomes are the only differences in your charts."

            "Specific genomes?"

            "The ones that determine species...Humans and other sentient beings aren't too far off on the genetic level anymore."

            "So what are you getting at?"

            "I'm saying that...genetically, you and Derek _are_ brothers."

            "But...how is that possible?!!"

            "Think, Fox...there haven't been any reports of humans in the Lylat system in over four _billion years...and the only evidence we have of their existence is the large supply of fossils we've managed to accumulate and a few other relics from the past...like the music CD's we found in some of the excavations."_

            "That doesn't explain anything."

            "I think Derek was cloned. There, I've said it."

            "But...cloning was outlawed _years ago!"_

            "Yes...therein lies the problem."

            They both sat in awkward silence for a moment, and Doctor Carol cleared her throat.

            "All that aside...Derek's probably going to be in the hospital for a few months."

            "That's fine."

            "Oh, and Fox...please don't tell Derek what I told you here."

            Fox headed for the door, and shook his head.

            "Sorry, lady. I'm going to tell him."

            "What?! Why?!!"

            Holding his hand over the door to keep it open, Fox stepped out into the hallway.

            "After all Derek's been through, he deserves to know the truth."

            Fox retracted his hand, and the door hissed shut behind him.

            "He deserves to know the truth," he muttered to himself, clutching his silver amulet.

                                                            **_The End._**

**_Special thanks:_**_ First and foremost, to the creators of this series. If you weren't there, I woudn't be pouring my heart out into these stories._

_Thanks to DJ Edge and Malkavhead...two of the best real life friends I could ever have._

_And thanks to Foxmerc, for being a really cool guy to chat with, and for writing such inspiring works as to get me to write the best stories I've ever written before._

_Thanks to all of you. I wouldn't be here without you._

_                        --Bane Keldare_


End file.
